Octavian Țîcu said he will step down as the president of the National Unity Party (PUN) after its board requested it, and will also take a time out from politics.

Octavian Țîcu went live on Facebook to announce that his resignation has been sought by PUN founders Ana Guțu and Anatol Șalaru at the latest meeting of the party’s board, which took place last Friday in his absence. The reason put forward is the electoral defeat that he is expected to assume full responsibility for.

According to Țîcu, Guțu and Șalaru convoked a convention to take place this coming Saturday. He says he and his team will not attend it.

Țîcu accused Guțu and Șalaru of not caring about unification with Romania. “This is the end of PUN. Anatol Șalaru, together with Ana Guțu, annihilated the pro-unification movement in Moldova, at least for a while. They practically destroyed it by taking this decision (…) They wanted to secure control over the party to push their own narrow interests. Very well. I’m not going to fight these people, because there’s no point”, declared the former lawmaker. He added that he will return to politics when he feels “support from people”.

Octavian Țîcu was elected PUN president in December 2019 for a four-year term.