Moldova's presidential candidate Maia Sandu gestures as she leaves the Action and Solidarity Party office in Chisinau, early on November 16, 2020, following her victory in the second round of the country's presidential election. (SERGEI GAPON / AFP)

BUCHAREST - Moldova's former Prime Minister Maia Sandu emerged as the winner of Sunday's presidential runoff, according to preliminary results released by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) on Monday.

Sandu, also leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity, got 57.75 percent of the vote, while her rival, incumbent President Igor Dodon received 42.25 percent, with all the ballots counted, the CEC said.

Maia Sandu, also leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity, got 57.75 percent of the vote, while her rival, incumbent President Igor Dodon received 42.25 percent, the Central Electoral Commission said

Moldova held the first round of presidential election on Nov 1 and decided the runoff election would take place between the top two candidates, as none of the eight candidates competing in the presidential race received an absolute majority of the votes -- 50 percent plus one vote -- during the first round of the election.

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This is the second duel between the two. Dodon defeated Sandu in the second round of voting in November 2016 and won his first presidential mandate.

"I today voted for a change, for Moldova, which we will all be proud of, for Moldova in which the people look at tomorrow with confidence and live in joy, alongside their families," said Sandu, who got 36.16 percent of the vote in the first round of the election.

On Sunday, more than 2,000 polling stations were open to an estimated 3.2 million voters, with 139 stations set up abroad. Voters were asked to enter the polling booths with protective masks and bring their own pens to sign the lists because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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And over 200,000 Moldovans living overseas had voted by the early evening, compared with a total of 150,000 in the first round of voting.

Sandu, 48, worked for the World Bank for two years after she graduated from the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 2010.

She was Moldova's education minister from 2012 to 2015 and prime minister from January to November 2019.

She launched a political platform that later became the Party of Action and Solidarity at the end of 2015 after leaving the office as education minister.

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