CHIȘINĂU — Pro-EU opposition candidate Maia Sandu has ousted incumbent Igor Dodon to become Moldova's new president.

As of 06:30 CET, Sandu had won 57.63% of the vote to Dodon's 48.37% with more than 99.8 percent of the ballots counted, according to data released by the country's electoral commission.

Sandu, who lost the presidential election in 2016 to Dodon by just 70,000 votes, was buoyed by huge turnout by the 1.2 million-strong Moldovan Diaspora that chose her over Dodon in the first round on Nov. 1 and turned out in force again on Sunday.

Moldova, a former Soviet republic of 3.5 million people sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, is the poorest nation in Europe, and hundreds of thousands of its citizens have moved overseas for work and opportunities in recent years.

Sandu, 48, is a former prime minister of Moldova and leader of the Action and Solidarity party and known for her pro-European stance and support in Brussels and European capitals.

By contrast, Dodon was endorsed by Vladimir Putin and has moved the country closer to Russia since 2016.

In recent months, Dodon has been the favorite to win the election due to Moldova's heavily partisan media, with the majority of TV channels and news outlets controlled by pro-Moscow parties. Moldova's Russian-speaking minority was expected to vote heavily for Dodon.

But on Nov. 1, Sandu won 36% of the vote to Dodon's 33%, suggesting that her campaign had genuine momentum.

Outside of Moldova, the election has been interpreted as a referendum on the country’s direction, with Dodon representing closer links with Russia and Sandu with the EU. In recent days, Vladimir Putin endorsed Dodon, who has visited Russia dozens of times since 2016. — Euronews