Moldova's Acting President Predicts End To Political Deadlock

CHISINAU -- Acting Moldovan President Mihai Ghimpu says enough members of the opposition Communist Party will eventually help elect the country's new president and end the current stalemate, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports.

Ghimpu, a leader of the four-party, pro-Western Alliance for European Integration (AIE) that won the July 29 elections, told RFE/RL that the communists will probably vote for the coalition's candidate in a vote in early December.

The AIE's choice for president, Marian Lupu, needs at least eight votes from Communist deputies in order to gain election.

The parliament elects the head of state with three-fifths of the 101 votes, and the Alliance for European Integration has a thin majority of 53 seats in parliament.

Ghimpu predicted that the communists will probably not vote for Lupu in the first round of voting, which may take place on November 10, but will probably vote for him in the second round "sometime in early December."

If Ghimpu's prediction is wrong and the parliament fails after two votes to elect a new president, Moldova will be forced to have early parliamentary elections early next year.