In the second round, Igor Dodan has won the first direct presidential elections with 52.1% of the vote, defeating Maria Sandu of the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS). Dodon was the leader of the Socialist Party (PSRM), but due to the structure of Moldovan constitutional law has had to resign the position upon becoming President-elect. He is the first President in 20 years to be directly elected rather than being chosen by parliament, leading some observers to speculate that the office is going to gain authority under his tenure.

He has campaigned on an often pro-Russian platform, wanting to get rid of trade agreement between the EU and Moldova, and to remove the embargo of Moldovan food and wine that was enacted in response the sanctions against Russian action in Ukraine. Dodon's election campaign was also boosted by tapping into the popular anger about corruption under the pro-European government that came to power in 2009 - particularly over the estimated $1 billion (923 million euros) that went missing from Moldovan banks before 2014 parliamentary elections. That same year, Moldova also signed a historic EU association agreement which resulted in half of its exports now going to the 28-member bloc. Russia bitterly opposed the move and responded with an embargo targeting Moldova's key agriculture sector.

Sandu, on the other hand, was urging a path toward Europe, calling for the withdrawal of thousands of Russian troops from the Russian-speaking separatist region of Transnistria, which broke away in the early 1990s after a brief civil war.

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