Brussels, 20/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton issued a call on Monday 19 December for political parties in the Republic of Moldova to engage in “open and constructive dialogue so as to allow the election of the president” of the republic by the parliament. “I call on the parliament to acknowledge its responsibility and to overcome the current institutional stalemate”, Ashton went on. Welcoming the fact that the parliament had made an attempt, on Friday 16 December, to elect the president of the republic, she regretted that the political parties represented “once again missed the opportunity to offer more political stability to the country”.
The president of Moldova is elected by the parliament. The country has, however, been without a president since the spring of 2009 as no political grouping has so far been able to garner the majority of 61 MPs out of 101 needed to elect the head of state. (CG/transl.rt)