CHISINAU, October 18 (RIA Novosti) - The Moldovan presidential election scheduled for October 23 in Moldova's parliament will not take place, the chairman of the parliamentary commission on the presidential election said on Sunday.
"The procedure is delayed as only one candidate has been registered for the post," Ion Pleshka said.
Marian Lupu, the leader of the Moldovan Democratic Party, was the only candidate for the president's post. He represented the ruling Alliance for European Integration.
"It is necessary to choose between two and more candidates as is stipulated in the conclusion by the Constitutional Court of Moldova, and also by international practice. Owing to the fact that only one candidate was registered, the election cannot take place on October 23," Pleshka said.
Pleshka said the parliamentary commission on the presidential election would submit a report to the parliament to say that the election cannot take place and the country's legislature must set a new date for the election.
The political situation in Moldova remains strained six months after parliamentary elections won by the Communist Party set off mass disturbances in Moldova's capital, Chisinau. Protesters, claiming that the election was flawed, attacked the parliament and presidential administration buildings.
Although the vote was upheld, the opposition forced new elections by boycotting the two parliamentary votes on a new president, leaving the Communists' candidate one vote short of confirmation and causing the dissolution of the parliament.
The snap elections on July 29 gave the Communist Party 48 seats, 12 fewer than they won in the April 5 elections.
The Alliance for European Integration, including the Democratic Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Our Moldova Alliance, has 53 seats, raising the possibility that without the support of eight Communist MPs their presidential nominee will fall short of the required votes, plunging the country into a fresh political crisis.
