March 7 (SeeNews) - Moldova will most likely hold presidential elections in the autumn, parliament president Andrian Candu said on Sunday in a televised interview.
On Friday, Moldova's Constitutional Court ruled that the country's president will be elected by popular vote. So far, Moldova's president was elected for a four-year term by a majority of 60% of the MPs in the 101-seat parliament.
"The Constitutional Court adopted a revolutionary decision. The Venice Commission recommends holding elections within six months after such big changes," Candu said in an interview for local broadcaster Prime. "We need time to prepare for the presidential elections, the candidates will also need time."
The Venice Commission is an advisory body of the Council of Europe made up of independent experts in constitutional law.
The exact date for the elections will be set in two months, Candu added.
According to the recent amendments to the Constitution, the president will be elected through a universal, direct, secret vote.
The term of the current head of state, Nicolae Timofti, expires this month but he will remain at the post until new elections are held.
To be elected in the first round of the elections, a presidential candidate should collect more than 50% of the votes. If no candidate succeeds in doing so, the two top-ranked candidates face each other in a second round of voting.
According to the Constitutional Court ruling, the new president should be at least 40 years old. This will prevent the leader in some of the polls - Renato Usatii, head of the extra-parliamentary Partidul Nostru party - from running in the presidential race. Usatii was born in 1978, local media have reported.
The other presidential candidates that, according to public opinion surveys, enjoy strong public support are Igor Dodon, leader of the socialist party, PSRM; Andrei Nastase, leader of the extra-parliamentary Dignity and Truth party, DA; and Maia Sandu, leader of the extra-parliamentary Action and Security party, PAS.
In March 2012, Moldova's parliament elected Timofti, breaking a three-year political deadlock.