CHISINAU (Moldova), September 9 (SeeNews) – Moldova’s Constitutional Court late on Tuesday declared the election of Parliament Speaker Mihai Ghimpu legal, after three judges voted for and three against its legality.
"As a result of equality of votes, appealed acts are declared constitutional and the case is closed," judge Nicolae Railean told a Constitutional Court session.
Moldova’s Communist party, which has 48 seats in the 101-seat chamber, has filed the appeal against Ghimpu’s election. Ghimpu, leader of the Liberal Party, PL, was elected in a 53-0 vote on August 28, with all the votes in his support coming from the four West-leaning parties that have teamed up in a government coalition.
The Communist Party left the parliament session before the vote, asking other parties in the legislature for a 10-day break in order to hold talks on forming the party’s parliamentary group. The coalition, however, continued the session ignoring the request.
The coalition in Moldova’s parliament comprises PL, the Democratic Party, PDM, the Liberal Democratic Party, PLDM, and Our Moldova" Alliance, AMN. The four parties have enough support in the chamber to form a government but are short of the 61-seat majority needed to elect the country's next president, who in turn will nominate the prime minister.
Moldova's new parliament was formed as a result of snap elections held on July 29 after the previous legislature failed twice to elect the new head of state and had to be dissolved as required by the country's constitution. The Communist Party, which has governed the ex-Soviet country since 2001, had 60 seats in the previous chamber, just one seat short of the three-fifths majority needed to elect the country's next president, and failed to draw support for its candidate for president from the opposition.