Ghimpu won’t support Lupu for president

The Liberals will not support Democrat leader Marian Lupu for the country’s top job. Liberal leader Mihai Ghimpu made this statement after the Parliament’s meeting on Wednesday, being asked by reporters whether the Alliance for European Integration would field a joint candidate for president, Info-Prim Neo reports. Speaker and concurrently acting President Mihai Ghimpu explained his decision by saying that Marian Lupu spoke of the Liberal Party as being extreme rightist. “I won’t support Lupu anymore if he criticized me like that. I told him straightly: there is the lying Left and the truthful Right”. Asked about potential Liberal candidates for president, Ghimpu said it was too early to name someone. “Let’s see first if the people accept a direct popular vote for the president”. The Communist Party doesn’t hurry to name any candidate either, doubting the upcoming referendum will be successful. “We don’t want a direct presidential vote. Although I was president, the people want a parliamentary republic. Conflicts between the president and Parliament are inevitable, like in the case of Snegur and Motpan or Licinschi and Diacov. But we didn’t have any such conflict”, said Communist leader Vladimir Voronin. The ruling four-party Alliance for European Integration decided earlier this month to call a referendum to amend the constitutional provision granting Parliament the authority to elect the president and introduce a direct popular vote instead. Legislative and presidential polls would take place 60 days later. Top figures from the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party have already announced their parties’ intention to run separately, while the Moldova Noastra Alliance admitted it could join a bloc as well.