The National Council of the Liberal Party on April 13 voted in favor of excluding five MPs from the party, including the PL’s first deputy chairman Ion Hadarca and secretary general Oleg Bodrug, as well as MPs Ana Gutu, Anatol Arhire, and Vadim Vacarciuc. For the time being, the lawmakers will remain members of the Liberal parliamentary group, but were urged by the party’s first deputy chairman Dorin Chirtoaca to renounce the seats of MP, IPN reports.

The proposal to exclude the two from the party was submitted by the party’s leader Mihai Ghimpu. The Liberals voted to deprive ministers Vitalie Marinuta and Gheorghe Salaru, who are not members of the PL, but were fielded by the party for the posts, from political support and to exclude a number of heads of local organizations of the PL from the party. These are the persons who signed the statement on the reformation of the Liberal Party.

Dorin Chirtoaca said that he didn’t know about the initiative to reform the party and the created group hid behind his name. “It is not true that they spoke to me earlier. They lied to those from districts and settlements, saying everything was done with my consent,” he stated.

Mihai Ghimpu said a part of those who announced the creation of the Council for Reforming the PL changed their minds when they found out that the initiative wasn’t discussed with those from the party’s leadership. “I believe and understand some of them. If they want to return home, they should return, but the traitors will not be accepted,” he said.

The Liberals also voted in Ion Apostol as secretary general of the PL, while Ianos Cusnir and Vasile Chitoroaga were named as deputy secretary generals.

The posts of deputy chairpersons of the PL will be held by Mihai Moldovanu, Lilian Carp, Valeriu Munteanu, Vitalie Culicovschi, Victor Rusanovschi, and Veronica Herta. They will be responsible for the PL’s local organizations. Each of them will be in charge of a certain monitoring area.

The National Council also constituted a group of negotiators who will take part in the talks on the formation of the AEI-3 on behalf of the PL. The negotiators are: Corina Fusu, Valeriu Munteanu and Anatol Salaru. Dorin Chirtoaca said the negotiations will start in a constructive way only if the heads of the PDM and PLDM take by a step backward.