Journalist Ana Lucia Culev has been elected as Chisinau deputy mayor

Journalist Ana Lucia Culev, who worked at the municipal Radio Antena C since its inception in 1998 until reorganisation, has been elected as deputy mayor of Chisinau. Lucia Culev was the only candidate out of three proposed by Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca who was approved by the majority at the City Council’s meeting on Thursday, September 20. 26 out of 47 councillors attending the meeting voted for Lucia Culev. Her candidacy was backed by the Liberal Party, Moldova Noastra Alliance Party, Humanist Party, and National-Liberal councillor Mihai Severovan, the newly-formed Liberal-Democrat faction and 2 of the 5 councillors of the Social-Democrat faction. The newly-appointed deputy mayor told reporters that she didn’t expect such an outcome, but she accepted the post because she knows what is really troubling people and because she has the feeling she can do great things for Chisinau. Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca pointed out that Lucia Culev represents the change that he promised during the election campaign. “Given that the agreements between parties are apparently not respected, I promote the people who in my opinion deserve to be in charge of Chisinau’s future”, the mayor said. Lucia Culev will most probably be in charge of cultural, mass-media, and educational issues, but things are yet to be defined, Dorin Chirtoaca explained. The other two candidates - Dionisie Boaghe and ex-deputy mayor Mihai Furtuna, were short of two and one vote, respectively, to obtain the 50 percent plus 1 vote required.