Moldova Votes West: A Win for Democracy and Sandu

In a small Eastern European nation, something big happened. Moldova's electoral battle just concluded, and the winner is Maia Sandu. She's the pro-Western president who just scored a second term, beating her Russia-friendly rival, Alexandr Stoianoglo, by a decent margin. The votes are almost all counted, and Sandu's at 55%, while Stoianoglo trails at 45%. This victory is significant because Moldova's been eyeing the EU, and Russia hasn't been too happy about it. Sandu celebrates, calling it a historic democratic win for Moldova. She claims that the vote wasn't clean, though. Dirty money, vote-buying, and even interference from outside forces are a few of the issues she raised. On the other side, Stoianoglo kept it classy, saying every vote matters. Turnout was pretty solid, with over 1. 68 million voters, about half of the eligible crowd. However, there were reports of voter transportation issues and cyberattacks on voter record systems. Even death threats were made, adding to the tension. This election is a continuation of Moldova's Westward shift, which started when Russia invaded Ukraine. The EU granted Moldova candidate status, and negotiations for full membership are set to begin next year. Needless to say, Russia's not pleased.