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Moldova's presidential election will go to a runoff after a pro-Russian candidate narrowly missed winning a majority of votes.

With almost all ballots counted early Monday, Igor Dodon won 48.26 percent, while pro-European rival Maia Sandu scored 38.42 percent.

There will now be a second round on Nov. 13 as no candidate secured a majority of the vote.

The election on Sunday was the first presidential election by direct vote in 20 years in this impoverished former Soviet republic.

Moldovans, angry about high-level corruption, were divided about whether to seek closer integration into Europe or rekindle ties with Moscow. </s> CHISINAU, Moldova — Moldova's presidential election will go to a runoff after a pro-Russian candidate narrowly missed winning a majority of votes.

With almost all ballots counted early Monday, Igor Dodon won 48.26 while pro-European rival Maia Sandu scored 38.42 , the top finishers among the nine candidates.

With no one securing a majority, a second round of voting will be held on Nov. 13 to decide between Dodon and Sandu.

The election on Sunday was the first presidential election by direct vote in 20 years in this impoverished former Soviet republic.

, angry about high-level corruption, were divided about whether to seek closer integration into Europe or rekindle ties with Moscow.

Dodon, who closer ties with Moscow, has pledged to "restore broad and friendly ties with Russia."

The former Communist Party member tapped into dissatisfaction with the pro-European government that came to power in 2009.

Sandu, an ex-World Bank economist and a pro-European figure, has vowed to be tough with endemic corruption. She earned praise for reforms she carried out when she was education minister.

Both the European Union together with the U.S. and Russia seek to have more influence over Moldova, a landlocked nation of 3.5 million between EU member Romania and Ukraine. </s> A flower vendor stands back dropped by a large poster of socialist presidential candidate Igor Dodon, placed on an apartment block, which reads in Russian and Romanian "We will win and it will be better in Moldova" in Chisinau, Moldova, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016. Moldovans will directly elect their president on Sunday for the first time in 20 years the favorite is Socialist Igor Dodon, who wants the ex-Soviet republic to return to the Russian orbit, while rival Maia Sandu believes the agricultural nation of 3.5 million, bordering Ukraine and European Union member Romania, would secure a more prosperous future in Europe. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) </s> Moldova's pro-Russian presidential candidate Igor Dodon has declared victory in Sunday's presidential runoff vote, holding a commanding lead in the former Soviet republic with nearly all votes counted.

With 97 percent of all ballots tallied late Sunday, Dodon, who campaigned on promises to restore closer ties with Russia, held a commanding 55.3 to 44.7 percent lead over pro-Europe rival Maia Sandu.

"We have won, everyone knows it," Dodon said at a late night news conference.

Final results are expected early Monday in the impoverished country of 3.5 million.

FILE - Leader of the Action and Solidarity Party, FILE - Leader of the Action and Solidarity Party and pro-Europe candidate Maia Sandu casts her vote during the first round of presidential elections in Chisinau Moldova, Oct. 30, 2016. FILE - Leader of the Action and Solidarity Party and pro-Europe candidate Maia Sandu casts her vote during the first round of presidential elections in Chisinau Moldova, Oct. 30, 2016.

Dodon, who came close to winning the presidency outright in the first round of voting two weeks ago, also has pledged to foster good relations with Moldova's neighbors, Romania and Ukraine. However, such appeasement gestures may face stiff resistance in Kyiv by many who object to Dodon's support for Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

For her part, Sandu - a former education minister - used her campaign to urge closer ties with Europe. She also called for the withdrawal of several thousand Russian troops from Moldova's Russian-speaking separatist region of Trans-Dniester.

Dodon's apparent victory comes alongside that of nearby Bulgaria's pro-Russian presidential candidate Gen. Rumen Radev, a political novice whose win on Sunday prompted center-right Prime Minister Boyko Borisov to announce his resignation.

People cast ballots during a presidential election Voters cast ballots during a presidential election at a polling station in Chisinau, Moldova, Nov. 13, 2016. Voters cast ballots during a presidential election at a polling station in Chisinau, Moldova, Nov. 13, 2016.

Moldova, like Bulgaria, has in recent years been plagued with rampant official corruption.

Former Moldovan prime minister Vlad Filat was sentenced earlier this year to a nine-year prison term, after a court found him guilty of corruption and abuse of power during his 2009-2013 term as head of government. His pro-European ruling coalition had been linked to the country's most powerful oligarch, Vladimir Plahotniuc, who has long been accused of running the country through bribes and intimidation.

Filat was arrested last year during a parliamentary session and later charged for his links to a bank fraud scheme that included the disappearance from three banks of $1 billion - nearly 13 percent of the tiny country's annual GDP.

Filat's successor later lost a parliamentary vote of confidence. </s> A pro-Russian candidate for president of Moldova is all but certain to win the race, preliminary results showed on Sunday, following a campaign in which he vowed to slam the brakes on seven years of closer integration with the European Union.

With 90 percent of votes counted, online results showed Socialist candidate Igor Dodon had won 55.9 percent, and his pro-European challenger, Maia Sandu, had 44.1 percent. </s> Pro-Moscow candidate Igor Dodon has seized nearly 15-point lead in Moldova's presidential election, with 75 percent of the vote counted.

Dodon had 57.25 of the vote in an election where he promised to restore ties with Moscow. His rival Maia Sandu, an ex-World Bank official who ran on an anti-corruption ticket, was polling 42.75 percent.

Dodon has tapped into popular anger about corruption under the pro-European government that came to power in 2009, particularly over about $1 billion that went missing from Moldovan banks before 2014 parliamentary elections.
Voters in Moldova go to the polls for a presidential election. A run off election will be held on November 13 between Igor Dodon and Maia Sandu after no candidate achieved a majority of votes.