Three judges out of five elected to Superior Magistracy Council

The Moldovan judges on Saturday elected only three members, instead of five required, to represent them in the Superior Magistracy Council, as no one of the remaining 12 candidates managed to obtain the required simple majority of votes, Info-Prim Neo reports. Nicolae Timofti, Nichifor Gorochi and Anatolie Ţurcan were elected in the first round. The second round didn't produce any winners and the judges will have to hold another convention to repeat the attempt. The organizers of the convention had predicted a dispersed voting and urged the judges to propose fewer candidates, but the recommendation was neglected. The newly elected members will serve 4-year terms starting on November 12 when the mandates of the old members are due to expire. Only five out of twelve members of the Council are elected by the community of judges, as four are appointed by Parliament from among active professors, and the remaining three are ex officio members – the Minister of Justice, the Prosecutor General and the Chair of the Supreme Court. The elected judges will have to suspend their activity in court for the duration of the term.