European Forum

Moldovan Parliament elects new Speaker

Following the Parliament’s first official session on 28, August Liberal Party Chairman, Mihai Ghimpu, was elected the new Parliamentary Speaker. The new speaker announced that the coalition nominated Democratic Party (DPM) leader, Marian Lupu, for the post of President. Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Vlad Filat, was nominated for the candidature of Prime Minister.

DPM leader Lupu reminded that the invitation to dialog, sent earlier to the Moldovan Communist Party by the liberal democratic coalition ‘Alliance for European Integration’, is remaining in force. MP Mark Tkachuk, former Political Advisor to President Voronin and presently the head of the Communist Party's electoral headquarters, stated that the Communists stand ready to be in opposition for the sake of the country. “Another early Parliamentary election would be a tragedy for the country”, Tkachuk explained. Lupu, however, affirmed that he does not rule out the possibility of early elections. "We hope the Communists will acknowledge the difficulty of the current situation, will show some flexibility and will agree to hold negotiations with us", he said. "Currently, the chances that a dialogue will actually take place are 50/50", Lupu added. Also, the Communist Party’s walk-out of the assembly's first session complicates efforts to elect a President to replace Mr Voronin.

The DPM leader said, furthermore, that the new Government will be a coalitional body. So all the four political forces shall be responsible for the results of country governance. The new Parliament has decided to resume work on 2 September, when the forum will start shaping its working organs.

The governing coalition's main objective is to bring Moldova back on a democratic development path, Filat stated. It is his conviction that the emergence of a democratic Parliamentary majority has been the important event in Moldova's current history, and "next will be the nation's comeback to democracy after eight years of the personal dictatorship of one man".  He outlined several main priorities of the new coalition namely ensuring of the independence of the judiciary, press freedom, a normal work of democratic institutions, and, essentially, the Transnistrian conflict settlement.

While the democratic forces formed a governing coalition, they did not gain enough votes in the early poll held on 29 July, to vote through their choice of President. The coalition - consisting of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (LDPM), the Liberal Party of Moldova (LPM), the Democratic Party of Moldova (DPM) and the ‘Moldova Nostra Alliance’- now needs to negotiate with the Communists to collect the eight remaining vote, so that Lupu can be named as the  new President.


Sources: Moldova Azi; Infotag; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty