By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) — Moldova's former prosecutor general Alexandr Stoianoglo is leading the polls by a slim margin in the country’s presidential runoff, according to preliminary results declared late Sunday.
Moldova’s Central Election Commission (CEC) announced that Stoianoglo is leading with just over than 51%, while incumbent President Maia Sandu stands at more than 48% with about 86% of ballots counted.
Voting in the runoff presidential election began at 7 a.m. local time (0500GMT) and continued until 9 p.m. across 2,219 polling stations, 231 of which were located abroad in 37 countries.
According to the CEC, nearly 1.7 million of the country's citizens have cast their ballots as the voting ended, corresponding to just over 54% of the electorate.
The final results are expected to be announced in a news briefing Monday at 10 a.m.