Premier Vlad Filat said the Communists Party announced too late its readiness to vote in favor of amending Article 78 of the Constitution in Parliament so that the President be elected directly by the people. “The decision to hold a referendum in September that we made public on June 3 will be implemented,” the Prime Minister said, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. Vlad Filat stressed that the idea of a constitutional referendum has been backed by his party colleagues since the PLDM was founded. “We explained why the head of state must be elected by the people. We even collected 260,000 signatures in favor of such a referendum,” the Liberal-Democrat leader said. Moreover, Vlad Filat said he questions the sincerity of Vladimir Voronin and his colleagues from the Communists Party, even if the Communist leader now appears as a man who understood that his career in politics is over. “Over time, they showed that their statements do not coincide with their actions,” he said. “We showed we can govern Moldova without exerting pressure on the political opponents and ensured access to information so that the people can hear different opinions and decide what to do. Even the Communists realized that you cannot oppose the people's will,” Vlad Filat said. Speaking about the estimated cost of 35 million lei of the referendum, Vlad Filat said the plebiscite could have been avoided if the Communists had elected the President in Parliament. “The costs of the referendum are much lower than those we would incur if we held elections every several months,” he said. Vladimir Voronin on June 4 announced the PCRM is ready to accept the Alliance's initiative to allow for direct election of the President. He said they will vote in favor of amending Article 78 of the Constitution in Parliament so as to avoid spending money on a referendum.