CHISINAU, Moldova >> Moldovans living abroad voted in record numbers in a presidential runoff that secured victory for pro-Western President Maia Sandu, in a pivotal race that pitted her against a Russia-friendly opponent amid ongoing claims of Russian interference, voter fraud and intimidation.

Sandu’s win, on a campaign promise to advance Moldova’s candidacy for European Union membership, was a major boon for the pro-Western government, which strongly backed her candidacy.

However, her opponents claim her victory relied too much on Moldovans living outside the country — which has a population of about 2.5 million, excluding expatriates — to be considered legitimate.

With 100% of ballots counted in the second round of Sunday’s presidential election, Sandu obtained 55.33% of the vote, according to the Central Electoral Commission, compared to 44.67% for Alexandr Stoianoglo, backed by the pro-Russia Party of Socialists.

A record number of 327,000 voters cast ballots abroad in the runoff, more than 82% of whom favored Sandu. But inside Moldova, Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor general, obtained 51.3% of the vote, compared to Sandu’s 48.67%.

Although the former Soviet republic signed a deal with the EU in 2014 to forge closer political and economic ties, years of rampant corruption and lack of reform hindered development, and an exodus of hundreds of thousands of citizens sought better futures abroad.

Former president Igor Dodon, leader of the pro-Moscow Party of Socialists, was quick to question Sandu’s electoral victory by telling Russia’s state news agency, TASS, that she has become “a president of the diaspora” and suggested it undermined the vote, noting Stoianoglo “won the presidential elections inside the country.”

Dodon’s party stated in a post on social media Monday that it did not recognize the results, calling Sandu “an illegitimate president, recognized only by her sponsors and supporters abroad” and claimed Moldovans “feel betrayed and robbed.”

Cristian Cantir, a Moldovan associate professor of international relations at Oakland University, told The Associated Press that the reaction from pro-Moscow politicians “was to be expected” since they have “criticized the diaspora vote in the past, especially votes by Moldovans” residing in Western countries.