Sandu has devoted much of her time to marshalling support from the European Union. She portrays the election as a chance for closer links to the EU and a rooting out of a history of systemic dysfunction.

The latest, but bloodiest Central Asian conflict in years is over water resources. And this clash, long in the making, has major regional implications.

For a country with an entrenched single party system, the subject of selling or leasing land to foreigners has proven a volatile issue.