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Moldova Communists refuse talks with ruling coalition on president

The Moldovan opposition Communist Party turned down a proposal by the ruling coalition Alliance for European Integration to start talks on settling the political crisis

CHISINAU, September 25 (Itar-Tass) — The Moldovan opposition Communist Party turned down a proposal by the ruling coalition Alliance for European Integration to start talks on settling the political crisis, over which the Moldovan parliament cannot elect the president already for two years.

The decision on spurning down a dialogue was taken by the plenary meeting of the party’s central committee on Saturday.

“We refuse to hold senseless talks with the Alliance which has fully discredited itself. But we shall try to come to agreement with leaders of separate parties, forming the ruling coalition so as to form a new configuration of power in the country,” said to reporters leader of Communists and former Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin after the plenary meeting.

According to the Communist leader, the Alliance “tried to settle the problem of the political crisis only due to various tricks”, “bribing deputies from the opposition”, “trying to change illegally the Constitution” and “dragging feet with the procedure of electing the head of state”.

Last Friday Alliance leaders decided to start talks with the opposition on electing the president. Acting president of the republic Marian Lupu remains the Alliance’s candidate for the presidency. “There was no and there is no such a candidacy for us,” said Voronin in connection with a possibility of nominating this candidacy, noting that Communists regard former premier Zinaida Greceanii as the most suitable candidate for this post.

Moldova has established sort of a world political record, living without a legally elected president for over two years. The political situation cannot be stabilised here since April 2009, when supporters of the liberal-democratic opposition, discontented with the victory of Communists at the elections, blocked the election of the head of state so as to achieve early elections.

Since that time on, deputies cannot elect the head of state, for whom 61 deputies out of 101 is to vote. The changed balance of political forces did not influence the situation. Following a chain of early elections, Communists who had ruled the country for eight years, turned to be in opposition with 42 seats.

The ruling coalition has the remaining 59 seats; the coalition consists of Liberal Democrats, Liberals and the Democratic Party.

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