Moldovans are voting on Sunday in the third parliamentary election in two years intended to end a stalemate that has left the impoverished ex-Soviet republic without a full-time president since mid-2009.
Moldovan acting president Mihai Ghimpu announced the dissolution of parliament on September 28 and said that early parliamentary elections would take place on November 28. The move was in line with the Constitutional Court's September 21 ruling, which said that a failure to elect a president in two subsequent elections provided sufficient grounds for the dissolution of parliament.
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.
The impoverished former Soviet republic has been divided between the Communists, who had dominated the political scene for most of the decade, and the ruling coalition of four parties who seek closer ties with the European Union.
The political crisis in Moldova, which has been without a full-fledged president for more than a year and a half, deepened after the September 5 referendum on whether the head of the state should be elected by a direct popular vote. It was declared invalid due to a low turnout.
CHISINAU, November 28 (RIA Novosti)
