Parliament fails to elect President – timeline

- [12:36] Mihai Ghimpu announced the meeting closed. The MPs left the assembly hall. [12:31] Marian Lupu: "Today's sitting clarified the situation. It showed that we will have to go through a difficult period and that the national interest must be above everything.” [12:24] Dumitru Diacov said the PCRM is in fact managed by Mark Tkachuk. "He already makes the list of the 'traitors' who wanted to vote in favor of Marian Lupu today." [12:22] The Communist leader Vladimir Voronin told the reporters that the PCRM has not voted for Marian Lupu because he “lacks character”. He also said that he will urge the people not to take part in a possible referendum on the modification of the Constitution. [12:20] Vlad Filat said the PCRM's arguments for not voting for Marian Lupu are 'sterile'. “Now we must be united more than ever. I'm sure that our foreign partners will appropriately assess the situation in our country and will help us achieve the set objectives by direct support.” [12:12] Head of Parliament Mihai Ghimpu: "Today, the Communists showed how much they love their country. The PCRM's decision is not political. They are angry that their life has changed.” He also said that there is no guarantee that the presidential candidate would gain the 61 votes needed after new early elections. [12:09] Premier Vlad Filat, the leader of the PLDM, said they cannot yet say how the party will run in the early elections. "The non-election of the head of state affected not only the AEI, but the entire Moldova.” [12:06] Ion Plesca, the head of the special commission, said Marian Lupu polled 53 votes, but needed 61 to be elected. [11:56] Dumitru Diacov said the PDM will run in the early elections separately. "The PDM will win the elections. Moldova does not have prospects with two radical forces,” he said. [11:54] Dumitru Diacov, the president of honor of the PDM, said he was disappointed by the PCRM's decision not to vote for Marian Lupu. According to him, during the negotiations held with the PCRM until December 7, the Opposition party demanded that the AEI be disbanded, that the Speaker Mihai Ghimpu and the Filat Government be dismissed. Marian Lupu could not accept such conditions. [11:48] The ballot boxes were taken away. [11:39] Marian Lupu said that if the head of state is not elected, there will be held early elections. “It is clear who is responsible for new elections,” he said. According to him, the modification of the Constitution would be a medium-term solution to the created situation. [11:37] The 53 members of the Alliance have voted. The Communist MPs did not go out of the hall where they gathered about an hour ago. [11:19] The MPs of the AEI returned to the assembly hall. The PCRM faction did not appear yet. The head of the special commission for the election of the head of state explained the voting procedure. [10:58] Speaker Mihai Ghimpu said Marian Lupu will anyway become President, sooner or later . He announced a 15-minute break to prepare the voting process. [10:57] Veaceslav Untila, the leader of the parliamentary group of the AMN, said today was a historical day and called on the MPs to vote unanimously. [10:55] The Communists gathered in one of the halls of the Palace of the Republic. [10:52] The Communist MPs left the assembly hall. [10:50] Maria Postoiko: "It would be betrayal to vote for the Alliance's candidate. We will not sell the country and will allow no one to do this.” [10:48] Maria Postoiko, the leader of the Communist faction, said the present government has an offensive attitude towards the people. "Neither the PDM nor the presidential candidate listened to the PCRM's proposals. The PDM had the chance to create a stable coalition with the PCRM so as to defend the country, but it chose the radical alliance." [10:44] Ion Hadarca, the leader of the PL group: "Not taking part in the vote means perpetuating the crisis situation. A vote would mean the most appropriate solution for the present Parliament. We all should vote in favor of Marian Lupu. [10:38] Mihai Godea, the leader of the PLDM group: "Dear colleagues from the Opposition, ponder over, act and don't be afraid.” [10:32] Andrei Popov, a representative of the Democratic parliamentary group, said Marian Lupu deserves being voted in as head of state as he is a man of high political dignity. [10:29] Marian Lupu to the MPs: "The decision belongs to you (...), but you should know that the people will judge you". [10:27] Marian Lupu: "We should all participate in the election of the head of state, in the government of the county.” [10:25] Marian Lupu: "I will make sure that the judiciary works appropriately so that the legal system in Moldova is responsible and truly independent.” [10:20] Marian Lupu said he is ready to give a new impetus to the dialogue with the Transnistrian authorities, without frustrations. [10:18] Marian Lupu: "We must realize a simple truth — the state means the citizens. The state makes progress only when the citizens are united. [10:15] At 9:00, the Opposition party, the PCRM, held a meeting to decide how to act in the second round of the presidential elections. After the meeting, Alexandr Petkov, a member of the party's Central Committee, said there are 'traitors' inside the PCRM and that Lupu might be elected head of state. [10:12] Marian Lupu asked his colleagues to analyze what consequences the political crisis may have. [10:10] The Parliament came together for a special meeting to elect the President of Moldova. The only candidate for the presidency, the Democratic leader Marian Lupu, who was fielded by the Alliance for European Integration (AEI), delivers a speech in the Parliament. He said he returned to the rostrum with the same message and in the same spirits as one month ago.