Translated material
Other fighters will come
The leader of the Moldovan communists was not allowed to participate in the presidential race
Former President of Moldova and leader of the Communist Party Vladimir Voronin has no right to run for the post of head of state again. This decision was made yesterday by the country's constitutional court. The head of the parliamentary commission on law, appointments and immunity, Ion Plesca, addressed the court with a request for the admissibility of the 69-year-old politician’s participation in the upcoming presidential campaign. However, as the head of the Chisinau Institute of Public Policy, Arkady Barbaros, explained to Vremya Novostey, the communists could have made the same request, since the issues in this situation actually existed.The Constitution stipulates that the same person cannot hold the presidency for more than two consecutive terms. And Mr. Voronin ruled the country for two terms - in 2001-2009. But last summer, the Alliance for European Integration came to power in Moldova and approved the current speaker of parliament, Mihai Ghimpu, as acting president. To elect a “real” head of state in 2009, the ruling alliance failed to obtain the required number of votes from deputies: 61 out of 101.
Let us recall that since 2001 the President of Moldova has been elected by parliament and that until now there has been no precedent for governing the country by an acting president. The Constitutional Court had to determine whether these circumstances served as a basis for Vladimir Voronin, one of the highest-rated representatives of the opposition, to again take part in the election campaign.
The verdict was announced by the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Dumitru Pulbere: “A person who exercises the powers of the President of the Republic of Moldova for two consecutive terms cannot apply for this position for a new term if, after the expiration of the second mandate, a vacancy in the position of President arose and the temporary performance of his duties was ensured by either the Chairman of the Parliament , or the Prime Minister." This decision is final and cannot be appealed.
Moldovan political scientist Victor Josu noted to VN in this regard that now 58-year-old Ghimpu should be considered primarily not as acting. president, but as just the chairman of parliament. As for the communists, there are now many speculations in Moldova about who they will nominate as a presidential candidate now. In addition to ex-Prime Minister 54-year-old Zinaida Greceanii, younger party members are also named. For example, these are the former first deputy prime minister, 35-year-old Igor Dodon, and 38-year-old Iurie Munteanu - “the second person in the party,” its executive secretary. “But it is obvious that the support of Vladimir Voronin can help the communist nominee reach the seemingly inevitable second round of the presidential election,” our interlocutor explained.
The presidential elections will presumably take place on November 14, and the vote will be direct and popular if more than half of the voters vote for a return to this scheme in the referendum on September 5, with a turnout of a third of the electorate. The chairman of the Democratic Party, a member of the ruling alliance, 44-year-old Marian Lupu, as well as the former head of the Moldovan information and security service and now the leader of the Humanist Party, 52-year-old Valeriu Pasat, have already announced their intention to participate in the presidential race. The fact that a representative of the Liberal Democratic Party, also part of the ruling coalition, will run for president was announced yesterday by its leader and Prime Minister of Moldova, 41-year-old Vlad Filat. Few doubt that he himself will be this nominee.