Former Moldovan Defence Minister Anatol Salaru said the election would decide whether Moldova would “continue the process of European integration or return to the Russia fold”.
A former Soviet republic flanked by Ukraine and Romania and one of Europe’s poorest countries, Moldova has a population of 2.5 million. It also has a large expat population of 1.2 million, whose votes could prove key to Maia Sandu in the run-off.
Moldova has opened talks on joining the European Union, and on the same day of the first round Moldovans voted by a whisker to back a change to the constitution embracing the commitment to join the EU.
The tiny margin in favour came as a surprise, although Maia Sandu said there was clear evidence of attempts to buy 300,000 votes.
The BBC spoke to one voter who said she and others had sold their votes for up to 1,000 roubles (£8).
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