Moldovan presidential election due October 23

In the early parliamentary election on July 29, four opposition parties formed in parliament the Alliance for European Integration, having 53 seats out of the 101. This made it possible for them to form the government and other bodies of power. However, 61 votes are necessary to elect the president, and the Alliance needs to secure support of at least eight Communist deputies to elect new president, noting that a number of deputies of that party are against an early election. Communists have the remaining 48 seats in parliament.

If the parliament fails to elect president before November 11, Acting President Mihai Ghimpu must dissolve parliament and fix the date of a new election, which will be held no earlier than next year, Kazinform cites Itar-Tass. See www.itar-tass.com