The independent candidate for Chisinau mayor, Mihai Roscovan, has decided to withdraw from the race, a press statement by the former candidate, quoted by Info-Prim Neo, reads. Roscovan says that he has assessed his chances of winning in a reasonable manner, and although he entered the mayor’s race too late and he didn’t have an appropriate framework for the electoral debates, he could still have collected a fair percentage of popular vote. But at the same time he realises that this percentage will not be decisive for winning or for reaching the second round of elections. That is why, so as not to confuse the voters even more, and for satisfying the expectations of the citizens, who don’t want a communist or a socialist mayoralty, but a democratic one, he decided to withdraw from the race. Roscovan suggests his supporters to vote for Vladimir Filat instead. After Mihai Roscovan’s withdrawal, 18 candidates are still in the race, one of whom is an independent candidate. The local elections will take place on June 3.