This article is from Democracy Digest:

The election of the pro-Western politician Maia Sandu as Moldova’s next president shows that Russia’s Vladimir Putin is losing his grip over Russia’s near abroad, analysts contend.

Monica Macovei, a former European Parliament member and Romanian justice minister, sees the election of Sandu (below) in stark terms: For one of Europe’s poorest countries, it’s an opportunity for a “a new beginning” that must not be missed. Sandu beat pro-Russian incumbent Igor Dodon in a runoff election on November 15, winning 58 percent of the vote in a decisive victory that supporters say gives her a strong mandate for reform, RFE/RL‘s Robert Coalson and Valentina Ursu report.

“At present, there is no other chance to save Moldova,” said Macovei, now an expert with Harvard University’s Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies. “This president has a chance. She wants to do it and — this is important — she has the necessary knowledge and will be given international support, help from the European Union and the United States and the entire democratic community.”

Read the full article here.