Moldova: Pro-European voted mayor of Chisinau

BUCHAREST, Romania – Mouldovan authorities say a pro-European candidate who opposed oligarchs and pro-Russian policy in this former Soviet republic has won the race to become mayor of Moldovan capital, Chisinau.

Election authorities said Monday that Andrei Nastase of the Dignity and Truth platform won 52.57 per cent in Sunday’s runoff to defeat Socialist Ion Ceban who called for closer relations with Moscow.

Nastase, 42, was a prosecutor and one of the organizers of large-scale anti-corruption protests in 2015 after the disappearance of 1 billion dollars from the Moldovan banking system.

The election was called after Dorin Chirtoaca, mayor for the past 10 years, stepped down after being probed for influence trafficking in a city parking contract. He claims the case is politically motivated.

Mouldova holds parliamentary elections this November.