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Moldovan president launches consultations on new cabinet

Igor Dodon invited the representatives of the Party of Socialists and the pro-European ACUM (Now) alliance to hold talks on November 13

CHISINAU, November 12. /TASS/. Moldovan President Igor Dodon has launched consultations on establishing a new government after Prime Minister Maia Sandu’s government lost no-confidence vote.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Dodon invited the representatives of the Party of Socialists and the pro-European ACUM (Now) alliance to hold talks on November 13.

"We believe that the lawmakers of the current parliamentary majority should preserve the coalition. It’s necessary to begin consultations between the parties and appoint a new prime minister. <…> I will immediately back a candidate suggested by the coalition of ACUM and the Party of Socialists," said Dodon, who is an informal leader of PSRM. According to him, a candidate for the new premier should be endorsed next week.

If these talks are deadlocked, the president plans to interfere in the situation. "We will suggest a non-political premier, a professional with a team of experts," Dodon said. He also voiced concerns that the political crisis could deteriorate into social and economic tensions unless urgent measures were taken.

The Moldovan president also ruled out a proposed coalition between the Party of Socialists and the Democratic Party of Moldova. "In this parliament only a coalition between PSRM and ACUM is possible," he told reporters.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Moldovan parliament voted in favor of no-confidence motion against Sandu’s government. The resignation, initiated by the Party of Socialists, was backed by lawmakers of the opposition’s Democratic Party of Moldova.

In June, the Party of Socialists created a parliamentary majority jointly with ACUM in order to oppose the Democratic Party led by oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, which controlled the former parliament and the cabinet. The oligarch was accused of corruption and an attempt to usurp power. Later, Plahotniuc left the country, stepping down as the party’s leader. The conflict in the coalition broke out over the election of the new prosecutor-general, who will have a key role in reforming judicial bodies and dismantling the system established by the oligarch.