The current President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, won the second round of the presidential election held on November 3. According to preliminary data published on the website of the Central Election Commission, she received 55.41% of the vote, while her opponent, former Prosecutor General of Moldova Alexandru Stoianoglo, received 44.59% of the vote.
As of Monday morning, 99.86% of the voting protocols have been counted. Votes from three polling stations in the United States have not been counted.
According to these data, 1,679,293 Moldovan citizens took part in the elections, which is 54.31% of the voters on the voting lists. Sandu received 930,512 votes, while Stoianoglo received 748,781 votes.
Stoianoglo, who ran as a candidate of the opposition Socialist Party, conceded defeat on Sunday evening, thanking voters for their support.
At the same time, Sandu lost the election in Moldova, gaining 48.81% of the vote against Stoianoglo’s 51.19%. In the Gagauz autonomy, Stoianonglo (a Gagauz by nationality) won 97% of the vote, with almost 80% of the residents of the Transnistrian region who took part in the elections also voting for him. More than 26 thousand voters cast their ballots at 30 polling stations open to residents of the left bank of the Nistru River on the right bank.
Sandu won the election with a large margin thanks to the vote abroad. A total of 328,877 voters cast their ballots at 231 polling stations abroad, which is more than 20% of the total number of voters. This is an absolute record of participation in elections by Moldovan citizens abroad. Sandu received more than 270 thousand votes at polling stations abroad, almost 83% of those who voted.
Sandu pledged to “be a president for all”. She said this at a briefing on Monday night, when it became clear that she had won.
“Dear Moldovans, I am grateful to each of you who came to the polls. I heard your voice: those who supported me and those who voted for Mr. Stoianoglo. I pledge to be president for all of you. No one will lose in our choice of a decent future. We may hold different points of view, speak different languages, but we all want peace, understanding and a decent life for our children. This is my main goal for Moldova in the coming years. We need to unite the society,” Sandu said.
Earlier, the Experts Club think tank presented an analytical material on the most important elections in the world in 2024, more detailed video analysis is available here – https://youtu.be/73DB0GbJy4M?si=eGb95W02MgF6KzXU
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here – https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
Italy, as one of the leading economies in the European Union, continues to recover from the pandemic and crisis of recent years. However, the labor market is facing many challenges, such as a demographic decline, an aging population, and pressure from migration flows. In the first half of 2024, the Italian labor market showed mixed results: improvement in some sectors and stagnation in others.
The Experts Club Information and Analytical Center analyzed the main trends in the Italian economy, the situation on the labor market and the situation of Ukrainian citizens staying in Italy.
The minimum wage in Italy is still not set at the national level. The issue of introducing a minimum wage has been discussed in the country for a long time, but at the moment, the terms of remuneration are regulated by collective agreements concluded by trade unions and employers in various industries. On average, the minimum wage under the agreements is about 8-9 euros per hour, which, if you are fully employed, corresponds to about 1,300-1,500 euros per month.
According to Experts Club, salaries in Italy vary by region, qualification, and industry. Let’s take a look at the average salaries in the main sectors of the economy:
Employment trends:
As of the beginning of 2024, there are about 5 million migrants in Italy, which is almost 9% of the total population. The main nationalities among migrants:
At the beginning of 2024, the number of Ukrainian citizens in Italy increased significantly due to the war in Ukraine. As of February 2024, there are more than 254,000 Ukrainians in Italy who are officially registered with temporary protection. However, the actual number of Ukrainians in the country may exceed 1 million, given the constant flow of refugees and migrants, as well as those who have not officially registered.
These migrants are mainly employed in agriculture, construction, and services related to elderly and childcare. Ukrainians, for example, after the outbreak of war in 2022, made up a significant share of home care workers.
According to the Experts Club information and analytical center, one of the main challenges for Italy is the integration of migrants into the economy. Some sectors are facing a shortage of skilled workers, while others are facing the problem of excess labor, especially among young people. In the coming years, the government will continue to implement programs aimed at supporting the integration and training of young professionals, as well as reducing bureaucratic barriers to job creation.
Thus, the labor market in Italy in the first half of 2024 shows both positive and negative trends. The economy needs skilled workers, especially in the technology and healthcare sectors, while the service sector continues to depend on migrants, who play an important role in solving the country’s demographic problems.
The second round of the presidential election between incumbent President Maia Sandu and Socialist Party candidate Alexandru Stoianoglo began in Moldova on Sunday, NewsMaker reports. Polls opened at 7 am local time and will close at 21:00. There are 2219 polling stations in the country and abroad, of which 1988 are in Moldova and 231 abroad.
A total of 2.7 million voters are registered. The elections are monitored by 2400 observers.
In the first round, Sandu won more than 42% of the vote, while Stoianoglo received almost 26%.
As reported, according to the CEC of Moldova, after counting 100% of the protocols in the presidential election, Maia Sandu, who won 42.45% of the vote, and the candidate from the Party of Socialists, Alexandru Stoianoglo, won 25.98%. Earlier, the Experts Club analytical center presented an analytical material on the most important elections in the world in 2024, more detailed video analysis is available here – https://youtu.be/73DB0GbJy4M?si=eGb95W02MgF6KzXU
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here – https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
France’s public debt at the end of the second quarter of 2024 rose to 112 percent of GDP, up from 110.5 percent at the end of March.
This was reported by the National Institute for Statistics and Economic Research (Insee).
From April to June, the debt increased by €68.9 billion, reaching €3,228.4 billion.
You can learn more about public debt and the economy in the video on the YouTube channel of the Experts Club think tank: https://youtu.be/gq7twYrWuqE
Incumbent Moldovan President Maia Sandu is the favorite in the presidential race, while candidates Alexandru Stoianoglo and Renato Usatîi are fighting to reach the second round. These are the results of an opinion poll presented on Thursday, conducted by CBS-AXA and commissioned by the WatchDog.MD community. The presidential election in the country will be held next Sunday, October 20.
“Maia Sandu is the favorite in the race, with over 35% ready to vote for her. 9% are ready to vote for the candidate of the Socialist Party, Alexandru Stoianoglo, and 6.4% for the head of the Our Party, Renato Usatîi. The remaining eight candidates are gaining between 0.5 and 3% of the vote,” said Vasyl Kantarzhy, director of CBS-AXA, sociologist.
According to the poll, 85.7% of respondents said they would definitely go to the polls on October 20. Another 8.3% said they were likely to vote.
At the same time, 28.1% of respondents have not decided, 2.9% said they would not go to the polls, and 9.9% did not answer the question.
Vasyl Kantarzhy said that the polls of recent months show an “atypical trend”, namely that “as the election date approaches, the number of undecided voters is growing”.
He attributed this growth mainly to opposition candidates, in particular, Oleksandr Stoianoglo’s claims of Romanian citizenship, as well as the events surrounding the Shora group. “This forced supporters of a number of opposition candidates to reconsider their position and become undecided,” Kantarzy said.
There are 11 candidates registered to run in the presidential election, a record number of candidates for the entire period of national presidential elections in Moldova. In the period from 2000 to 2016, the president of Moldova was elected by the parliament.
The survey was conducted by telephone on October 11-16 with the participation of 1034 people. The margin of error is 3.05%.
Earlier, the Experts Club think tank presented an analytical material on the most important elections in the world in 2024, more detailed video analysis is available here – https://youtu.be/73DB0GbJy4M?si=eGb95W02MgF6KzXU
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here – https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
Global public debt may exceed $100 trillion (93% of global GDP) in 2024, according to the Fiscal Monitor report published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday.
It is expected to continue to grow in the medium term and may rise to 100% of GDP by 2030.
At the same time, under the most unfavorable scenario, global debt could be almost 20 percentage points higher than the baseline forecast and reach 115% of GDP in 2026.
“Debt stabilization (or reduction) is likely to require much more significant fiscal adjustments than currently planned. Now is the right time to restore fiscal buffers, and delaying them is costly,” the report says.
The IMF believes that public debt will continue to grow in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, France, Italy, and South Africa.
“While debt is projected to stabilize or decline in about two-thirds of countries, it will remain well above levels projected before the pandemic,” the report says. Moreover, the countries that are not expected to stabilize account for more than half of the world’s debt and about two-thirds of global GDP.
Government spending to address the problems of the “green transition” in the energy sector, population aging and security issues is likely to increase fiscal pressure in the coming years, according to the Fund’s experts.
“It’s time for governments to get their act together,” said Era Dabla-Norris, IMF Deputy Director for Fiscal Affairs. – “All countries need a strategic turnaround to reduce debt risks.
For more information about public debt and possible country defaults, please watch the video on the YouTube channel of the Experts Club think tank: https://youtu.be/gq7twYrWuqE?si=0WcmU20F95oeVKZp
