Attempt to hold Chisinau Council meeting fails

An attempt to hold a meeting of the Chisinau City Council on Thursday failed after the councilors couldn't agree on who should preside over it. The first to walk out of the assembly hall were the Liberals, followed by the Communist group. By rotation, the Council's chairmanship was supposed to be conferred to one of the Liberal-Democrat councilors, but the Communists insisted they should have the privilege, in compensation for the other councilors' failure to invite them at the previous meeting on September 17, which for this reason they consider unlawful. In the ensuing exchange of accusations, the Liberals decided to walk out. “For more than one week we waited for an excuse from the Mayor, the Council Secretary or the Council's groups for what happened in the evening of September 17, when three groups assembled without announcing us”, said Boris Golovin, the leader of the Communist group in the Council. Valentin Todercan, a Communist councilor, went on to criticize the Alliance councilors for holding a meeting behind the Communists' backs and for using “gangster ways to achieve narrow personal interests”. Having vented their discontent, the Communists also left the assembly hall. Due to a lack of quorum, the meeting was closed. Under a decision adopted on September 17, the City Council is to assemble for meetings on the last Thursday of each month.