* Correction appended
CHISINAU -- Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat says that Romanian President Traian Basescu deserved to receive most of the votes of Moldovans who also have Romanian citizenship, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports.
Filat told RFE/RL today that he is "satisfied" with the victory by Basescu, the incumbent, in the December 6 presidential election in neighboring Romania.
Election results show that Basescu won the runoff of the November 22 poll by a narrow margin of some 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent over Social Democrat Mircea Geoana.
Filat said it is easier for his government to work on "old common projects" with an "old team," referring to the Basescu administration.
Romanian election officials reported that some 94 percent of Moldovans with Romanian citizenship who voted in the election cast their vote for Basescu.
There are an estimated 200,000 Moldovans with Romanian passports.
Basescu has been a vocal advocate of Moldovans' right to regain Romanian citizenship while Geoana, a former foreign minister, was largely silent on Moldovan issues during his campaign.
The entire Romanian-passport-holding diaspora cast some 145,000 total votes and an estimated 80 percent of those reportedly went to Basescu.
Filat and Romanian officials agreed in Bucharest last month that Romania would open new consulates in Moldova and allow Moldovans living near Romania to have multientry visas valid for up to five years.
* The original version of this story erroneously reported that Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat has Romanian citizenship and voted in the Romanian election.
CHISINAU -- Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat says that Romanian President Traian Basescu deserved to receive most of the votes of Moldovans who also have Romanian citizenship, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports.
Filat told RFE/RL today that he is "satisfied" with the victory by Basescu, the incumbent, in the December 6 presidential election in neighboring Romania.
Election results show that Basescu won the runoff of the November 22 poll by a narrow margin of some 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent over Social Democrat Mircea Geoana.
Filat said it is easier for his government to work on "old common projects" with an "old team," referring to the Basescu administration.
Romanian election officials reported that some 94 percent of Moldovans with Romanian citizenship who voted in the election cast their vote for Basescu.
There are an estimated 200,000 Moldovans with Romanian passports.
Basescu has been a vocal advocate of Moldovans' right to regain Romanian citizenship while Geoana, a former foreign minister, was largely silent on Moldovan issues during his campaign.
The entire Romanian-passport-holding diaspora cast some 145,000 total votes and an estimated 80 percent of those reportedly went to Basescu.
Filat and Romanian officials agreed in Bucharest last month that Romania would open new consulates in Moldova and allow Moldovans living near Romania to have multientry visas valid for up to five years.
* The original version of this story erroneously reported that Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat has Romanian citizenship and voted in the Romanian election.