Negotiations for the formation of a new government in Chisinau
The pro-European parties represented in the Republic of Moldova's Parliament have started negotiations for the formation of a new government.
Valentin Țigău, 05.12.2014, 13:38
In Chisinau, the capital of the neighboring Republic of Moldova, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party have decided to set up a coalition, and are now discussing the future governing program. Negotiations will follow over the sharing of offices, but no decision has been made yet. Most likely, the Liberal Democratic Party, the one who got the largest share of the votes will want to keep the position of prime-minister currently held by Iurie Leanca. Each party has delegated a number of representatives who will draw up the next governing program, whose priorities will be European integration, reform of the judiciary and fighting corruption. Following Sunday’s legislative election, the pro-European parties got 55 of the 101 seats of the single-chamber Parliament of Moldova. The other seats are shared between the Socialists’ Party and the Communist Party, who are calling for a revision of the association agreement with the EU.
The Socialists’ Party, supported by Moscow, will remain in the opposition, despite the unexpectedly high score obtained in the elections. Its leader, Igor Dodon, has already assured the Kremlin he will insist that early parliamentary elections be held in the Republic of Moldova. The Russian Foreign Ministry warned on Wednesday, that with only five polling stations open, hundreds of thousands of Moldovan citizens in Russia were not given the possibility to cast their vote.
In another move, the US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a resolution that firmly condemns Russia’s actions against Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, terming them as ‘a political, economic and military aggression’. Among other things, the US representatives called on Moscow to pull out its troops from Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova and urged president Obama to provide Ukraine with military aid. The negotiations carried by the three pro-European parties in the Republic of Moldova was one of the topics on the agenda of talks between the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu and the US Secretary of State John Kerry. Attending the meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Basel, the two officials highlighted the importance of a pro-European government in Chisinau.