MOLDOVA BRACES FOR PRESIDENTIAL RUNOFF.

Final results, issued today, of the November 17 first round of Moldova’s presidential election show incumbent president Mircea Snegur with 39 percent of the votes cast, Parliament Chairman Petru Lucinschi with 28 percent, Prime Minister Andrei Sangheli and Communist leader Vladimir Voronin with 10 percent each, pro-Romanian candidate Valeriu Matei with 9 percent, and four minor candidates with smaller percentages. Turnout was strong, at 68 percent, despite the Transdniester authorities’ refusal to open polling stations in that region. The governing Agrarian Democratic party has endorsed Lucinschi for the December 1 runoff on the grounds that "Moldova’s statehood is at stake" following Snegur’s alliance with the pro-Romanian Popular Front. (Monitor interviews, November 19)

Neighbors of Belarus Concerned.