by Chen Jin, Lin Huifen
CHISINAU, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Socialist candidate Igor Dodon led his rightist rival Maia Sandu by over 5 percentage points in Moldova's presidential runoff on Sunday, after 99.47 percent of the votes were counted.
Dodon, leader of the Socialist Party, picked up 52.57 percent of the votes, while the common right-wing candidate Sandu got 47.43 percent of the ballots, according to latest data of the Central Election Commission.
Local analysts believe Dodon's victory is already guaranteed, though there are still ballots to be counted.
"I promise I will be President for everyone, for those who see themselves as right-wing and for those who see themselves as left-wing, for those who want EU integration and for those who want close relations with Russia," the 41-year-old main opposition leader told a press conference after midnight, stressing that he had realized the responsibility he would bear as head of state.
The Socialist leader also addressed Moldovans living abroad, promising to take into account the problems they face.
Earlier, the rival Sandu, leader of the Action and Solidarity Party, told the media soon after the closing of polls that the runoff was organized badly, there weren't enough ballots at some polling stations and many people were unable to vote.
The Action and Solidarity Party is a party outside the parliament founded by 44-year-old Sandu after leaving her post as education minister last year.
Sandu complained that her team had earlier asked for setting up additional polling stations for Moldovan residents abroad, but their requests were ignored.,
Sandu was echoed by his contender Dodon, who also criticized the way in which the elections were organized.
"In Europe, Russia and Transnistria (a breakaway region of Moldova), thousands of people were forced to go home without voting as there were insufficient polling stations and a shortage of ballots," said the Socialist leader.
"I have repeatedly warned the Central Election Commission of the need to open an additional number of polling stations where the diaspora is widely represented, namely the Russian Federation. They did not," Dodon added.
"Now the CEC and other institutions will have to answer for it," he stressed.
Moldova held the presidential runoff on Sunday, as none of the nine candidates competing in the presidential race received an absolute majority of the votes (50 percent, plus one vote) in the first round of direct presidential elections on Oct. 30, a change from the past 16 years during which the head of state was indirectly elected by the parliament.
The voter turnout at the runoff, which ended at 9:00 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) in the country, was over 53 percent, some 5 percent more than that at the first round two weeks ago.
The presidential elections are generally viewed in the country as a battle between pro-Russian and pro-EU camps.
Landlocked between Romania and Ukraine, the former Soviet republic is still shrouded in the shadow of a corruption scandal in which a total of 1 billion U.S. dollars, or around 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), disappeared from its banking system.
The scandal sparked large-scale protests last year, eroding the confidence in pro-European politicians that have led the country since 2009 and has partially contributed to the Socialists' gain in popularity.
