President Maia Sandu is for now the favorite candidate at the 2024 presidential election, said political commentator Ion Tabîrță. According to him, the incumbent head of state is the only pro-European candidate who is most trusted by the citizens. However, if Maia Sandu does not win a new term in office in the first round of voting, it will be much harder for her to get it in the runoff vote, IPN reports.
The political commentator noted that compared to last year, President Maia Sandu’s chances of winning the presidential election in the first round have diminished. The head of state will face difficulties if she does not win in the first round, as there are no other pro-European candidates whose votes would migrate to Maia Sandu in an eventual runoff.
“If the elections had taken place last year, Maia Sandu would have won in the first round, without much trouble. Now Maia Sandu starts the race as a favorite, but things have changed. It will be easier for her to win in the first round than in the second round as now President Maia Sandu is the only top-rated pro-European candidate. The rest of the right-wing politicians don’t have high rating. That’s why, in an eventual runoff vote, it will be difficult for Maia Sandu to secure votes from another pro-European candidate. On the political left, things are different. On the left, we have several candidates with high rating,” Ion Tabirta stated in the program “Resumé” on RliveTV channel.
According to him, Chisinau mayor Ion Ceban is a candidate who could compete with Maia Sandu in the 2024 presidential election. An eventual MAN-PSDE union will turn Ion Ceban into a formidable opponent of Maia Sandu.
“Although he hasn’t announced his intention to run, Ion Ceban is the most dangerous candidate. He is old enough to run. Yes, he is not known outside Chisinau. We have seen that the party has won only 20 seats at municipal level. But if there is a union with the PSDE, knowing the territorial bodies of this party and anticipating that serious consulting institutions will work for Ion Ceban, I consider Ion Ceban can be a redoubtable challenger to Maia Sandu. He has chances to reach the runoff vote,” said Ion Tabirta.
On December 24, President Maia Sandu announced her intention to run for a new term in office. The leader of Our Party Renato Usatyi also expressed his readiness to contend in the presidential election.
