Communists pick nominees

The Communists' (PCRM) leader and outgoing president Vladimir Voronin is the party's nomination for the position of parliament's speaker. Communists MP Vladimir Turcan has been nominated as a deputy speaker, while the second position will be offered to a candidate from the opposition. Maria Postoico, the former deputy president, will be the leader of the Communists' faction in the Legislature, Info-Prim Neo reports. These decisions were made at the 7th plenary sitting of the PCRM, which was held on May 7, media learnt after the reunion from the Communist MP Mark Tkaciuk, a former presidential advisor on political matters. The plenary did not consider a nomination for the position of president. According to Tkaciuk, the second nomination for the position of deputy speaker “depends on the later consultations with the opposition.” He has not ruled out the Communists will appoint one of theirs to that position. The media were not allowed into the Palace of the Republic where the plenary sitting took place. The reunion was preceded by a close-door sitting in the PCRM's headquarters, which was attended by the Communist greats: Vladimir Voronin, premier in office Zinaida Greceanai, former speaker Marian Lupu, MPs Igor Dodon, Mark Tkaciuk, Vladimir Turcan, Vadim Misin, Svetlana Popa, Grigore Petrenco and others. The sitting was held in maximum security conditions and the building was isolated. The PCRM has 60 seats in the parliament, short of just one to be able to elect the president of the country. The three opposition parties from the parliament (PL, PLDM and AMN) hold 41 seats together and said they would not attend the election of a Communist president, nor would they accept any ranking position. In case the president is not elected, the parliament will be dissolved and early elections will be called.