Parliament decides referendum shall be held on September 5

The constitutional referendum on the way of electing the president will be held on September 5, as decided today by Parliament, following approvals by the Constitutional Court and the Government, Info-Prim Neo reports. The referendum's ballot will contain a single question: “Do you agree for the amendment of the Constitution so that the president of Moldova is elected directly by the people?” Democrat leader Marian Lupu said before the Parliament's decision that it would be more reasonable to amend Article 78 of the Constitution through parliamentary vote and invite the Communist faction to join it. But Mihai Godea, the chair of the Lib-Dem faction, said he did not trust the sincerity of the Communists. “We have to overcome this political crisis and there is no time to stay idle”, declared acting President Mihai Ghimpu. He recalled that a parliamentary commission was created to find a consensus on the constitutional amendments, but the Communists have failed to appear in Parliament for nearly half a year. After a short break asked by Marian Lupu, the decision to hold the constitutional referendum was adopted by a majority of votes.