"It took real courage of the Moldovan nation and Maia Sandu personally to win this election," Tusk said in an X post on Monday.
"Not only did you save democracy and kept the European course, but you have also stopped Russia in its attempts to take control over the whole region," he added.
"A good lesson for us all," Tusk also wrote.
Moldova’s pro-European ruling party pulled comfortably ahead of its Russian-leaning rival in a crucial parliamentary election, according to near-final results released on Monday.
With 99.52 percent of ballots counted, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) had 50.03 percent of the vote, compared with 24.26 percent for the Patriotic Bloc, which opposes closer ties with the European Union, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Moldova's pro-EU President Maia Sandu casts her ballot in the country's parliamentary election on Sunday. Photo: EPA/DUMITRU DORU
Ahead of the election, President Maia Sandu’s government warned that Russia was attempting to sway the vote through disinformation campaigns and vote-buying.
In the days before the ballot, election officials barred two pro-Russian parties from running, citing allegations of illegal financing.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Moldovan President Maia Sandu meet in Chișinău on September 4, 2024. Photo: PAP/Rafał Guz
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Source: IAR, PAP