The chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Vlad Filat is optimistic as regards the identification of a candidate for the presidency. On February 14 in the evening, the leaders of the AEI came together for a meeting that was hidden from the press, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The discussions we started yesterday will be based on responsibility. I don’t want to be very optimistic, but I’m confident that we will find a suitable candidate for the post of President, who will be able to secure the votes of 62 non-Communist MPs,” said Vlad Filat. He also said that the three votes of the Socialists are necessary, but the votes of the colleagues from the PDM and PL and the 31 votes of the PLDM are as important. Vlad Filat also said that not much time remained until February 16, when the lawmakers will come together for the first sitting of the spring-summer session. On Thursday, the ruling alliance is to set the date of presidential elections. “We are yet to discuss and take a decision to this effect,” he stated. The Alliance for European Integration abandoned the idea of organizing a constitutional referendum to simplify the procedure for electing the head of state and chose to hold presidential elections.