Supported by the Sheriff conglomerate, he defeated incumbent President Yevgeny Shevchuk in the 2016 presidential elections, receiving 62% of the vote. He was inaugurated on 27 December at the Nadezhda Aronetskaya State Drama Theatre. On 4 January 2017, he received newly elected Moldovan President Igor Dodon in Bendery, who was the second Moldovan leader to visit the PMR in several years. In September 2018, his first major state visit outside of the PMR was to Sukhumi for Abkhazia's Independence Day celebration. In January 2019, he attended the opening of the PMR representative offices in Moscow, replacing the Cooperation Center "Pridnestrovie". On 29 May, he announced the creation of an international lawsuit against Moldova in which the PMR asks for compensation for "the aggression against the people of Transnistria". In August, he attended a ceremony at the base of the Operational Group of Russian Forces with Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu dedicated the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Moldova in the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive. In late October, he met with President Dodon at his presidential residence in Holercani ahead of the Bavaria Conference, scheduled for 4–5 November.