Pro-Russian Socialist leader Igor Dodon declared victory in the second round of presidential elections in Moldova late Sunday, with exit polls showing him ahead.
Dodon won 52.57 percent of the vote in the second round, thus making him the first president elected in Moldova by popular vote since 1996.
His rival, former pro-Western Education Minister Maia Sandu, won 47.43 percent of the vote.
Moldova's president, last chosen by popular vote in 1996, has the power to send laws back to parliament and dissolve the legislature in certain situations.
Since 2000, presidents were chosen by parliament, but in March the Constitutional Court reinstated direct voting.