Trade of blame, call for new elections follow failed Moldovan vote

Sep 6, 2010, 6:39 GMT

Chisinau, Moldova/Moscow - The government and opposition in the former Soviet republic of Moldova blamed one another Monday for a failed referendum to reintroduce direct elections for president.

The referendum registered a voter turnout of 30.98 per cent, lower than the minimum of a third of registered voters required to be valid, the Central Election Committee said, according to media reports early Monday.

Prime Minister Vlad Filat called for speedy new elections as a way to resolve a long-running political crisis in the country bordering Romania and Ukraine.

It has been without an elected head of state for one and a half years, meaning that legislation approved by Parliament cannot be signed into law.

The low turnout came after opposition parties called for a boycott of the vote.

The failed constitutional referendum would have changed the current system of selecting the president through a vote of Parliament.

The governing pro-Europe reformists and opposition Communists have been blocking one another's initiatives in Parliament, and the Communist Party has refused to give the ruling coalition the single vote necessary to select a president.

Communist Party chief and former president Vladimir Voronin charged that the government is made up of 'pseudo-politicians' and was bankrupt. Parliament Speaker and acting President Mihai Ghimpu accused the Communists of resorting to 'dirty methods.'

One of the poorest countries in Europe has seen other political turmoil recently. Bloody street riots in April 2009 followed a parliamentary election that gave the Communists victory.

Mass protests against election fraud in the Communists' favour forced a repeat election in July, won by the coalition.