MPs come into possession of permits

The 101 members of the new Parliament were handed over their permits at a solemn ceremony held by the Central Election Commission at the House of the Government on Friday morning, Info-Prim Neo reports. At the previous official ceremony, the Communist MPs, who then formed the majority in the legislature, and the members of the Opposition received their permits separately. This time, all the MPs attended the ceremony. The president of the Constitutional Court Dumitru Pulbere opened the ceremony with a speech and announced the final outcome of the July 29 early elections. The first permit was tendered to the leader of the PCRM Vladimir Voronin. The Communist MP Zinaida Greceanyi and the Liberal- Democratic leader Vlad Filat followed next. “I wish good luck to the new Parliament,” said Vladimir Voronin, who, immediately after the ceremony, withdrew as he was to depart for Sochi for a meeting with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. The Communist and Democratic MPs sat down in different parts of the hall and did not applaud each other when the permits were being handed over. “We serve the country and the people,” said the 101st Liberal-Democratic MP Ion Butmalai. “Set the Parliament on fire again,” Communist Iurie Stoicov replied. The Communist MP Eduard Musuc was booed when he was called to take his permit. Some of the MPs said the ceremony was ordinary, unlike the previous one, when they were offered flowers and champagne. Five parties entered the eighteenth legislature: the PCRM with 48 seats, the PLDM with 17 seats, the PL with 15 seats, the PDM with 13 seats, and the AMN with 7 seats. The first sitting of the new Parliament is scheduled for August 28.