Presidential election was 'obstructed'

Ion Paduraru, dean of the Chisinau Bar Association, thinks that the presidential election procedure on Friday was obstructed and doubts that a president will be eventually elected by the current parliament. “Everyone understands that snap (parliamentary) elections are inevitable, but no one wants them in winter but rather in spring”, the former justice minister told a talk show on Publika TV, Info-Prim Neo reports. Paduraru also criticized the Eurointegration Alliance for trying to create “all sorts of precedents at how to avoid and breach the law”. “This is extremely dangerous for Moldova's democratic future, because it allows any future majority to juggle the law in any way they like it”. Political pundit Igor Botan told the same show that the best course to follow now by the ruling alliance was to acknowledge that it had exhausted the first attempt to elect the president and proceed to the second one within 30 days. Otherwise, it ran the risk of being accused of usurpation of power. “Things are slipping into a very dangerous direction. While the Communists announced large-scale protests, the Liberals should recall one basic principle: the right of the people to revolt if it is poorly governed”. Victor Gurau, political analyst and a Communist city councilor, also thinks early parliamentary elections will most likely happen. “If a president is not elected until January, in March or April we will have elections”. The presidential election scheduled for November 18 was declared null after no candidate was registered. The Parliament's Legal Commission head Victor Popa has said that until a new round is held, it is necessary to introduce amendments that clarify such situations. The Communist faction insisted that the first attempt out of two was exhausted on November 18 and the second must be held no later than in 30 days; and if the second round doesn't produce a president or fails in any other way, Parliament should dissolve.