Mihai Ghimpu reelected as leader of Liberal Party

Acting President Mihai Ghimpu was reconfirmed as chairman of the Liberal Party (PL), while Mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca was elected at first deputy chairman of the party at the third Congress on September 26, Info-Prim Neo reports. Two candidates were fielded for the post of leader of the PL - Mihai Ghimpu and his nephew Dorin Chirtoaca. After the Mayor of Chisinau refused to compete, Mihai Ghimpu was reelected as leader with a majority vote. The Congress brought together over 2,000 candidates. “I said earlier a day will come when the party will be taken over by younger persons. We discussed this idea inside the party and decided I should not withdraw as I'm the youngest,” Mihai Ghimpu said at the Congress that was held five years after the last similar event. Speaking about the successes achieved after he was named leader of the PL, Mihai Ghimpu mentioned the election of Dorin Chirtoaca as Mayor of Chisinau in 2007 and the fact that the PL entered the Parliament after the July 2009 elections and is represented by ministers in the Cabinet. “We must aim to win not only the early legislative elections, but also the local ones. The Communists Party will never win again. We will bury the PCRM,” he said. The Romanian politicians attending the Congress wished the party good luck in the November elections. MEP Monica Macovei said the democratic parties should join forces in order to bring about changes.”Moldova has been in the EU's agenda for a year. You must win the elections and fully implement the initiated changes so as to remove the Communism and dictatorship,” said Monica Macovei. Among the attendees was former political detainee Ilie Ilascu, who has been recently awarded the Order of the Republic by Acting President Mihai Ghimpu. “History gives us another chance in this country. If we miss it as in the referendum, we will not be able to do much,” he said. The delegates adopted several resolutions, including on the condemnation of Communism, and made amendments to the statutes and program of the PL. Under the modified statutes, the PL has three first deputy chairmen – Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca, Minister of Transport and Road Infrastructure Anatol Salaru and MP Ion Hadarca. The Congress also voted in four deputy chairpersons - MPs Corina Fusu, Boris Vieru, and Valeriu Munteanu and presidential adviser on political matters Vlad Lupan.