Moldova's Constitutional Court on Tuesday ruled that a failure to elect a president in two subsequent elections provides sufficient grounds for the dissolution of parliament.
Acting President Mihail Ghimpu had asked the court to rule on the need for the dissolution of parliament following the failure of the November 10 and December 7, 2009 elections, as well as the September 5 referendum on whether the Moldovan president should be elected by a direct popular vote.
Under the current law the head of state is elected by parliament but in its present makeup none of the candidates can garner the required number of votes.
Now Ghimpu is to dissolve parliament and set a date for new elections.
The West-leaning coalition government campaigned for the change as a way to break the political deadlock that has left the country without a full-fledged president for 18 months.
The turnout in the referendum was 25%, well below the 33% level for the vote to be deemed valid.
CHISINAU, September 21 (RIA Novosti)
