[Iran Press TV Latest] Moldova's ruling Communists are likely to lose their majority in the June 29 parliamentary elections, according to exit polls. Voters went to the polls in an early election after the Communist-majority parliament elected on April 5 could not agree on a successor to replace outgoing President Vladimir Voronin. In Moldova, the parliament elects the head of state, which must be chosen by 61 out of the 101-member body.
Projections based on exit polls give the Communists 41.7 percent of the votes and 45 seats in the 101-member parliament. The party had won 60 seats in the April vote, leaving them short of the numbers needed to select the president.
Should the ballot-count follow the exit-polls predictions, then, in order to maintain power, the party would now have to enter into a coalition government.
The European Union-oriented opposition is seeking a parliamentary majority that would allow it to put an end to the Voronin-era and to choose a non-Communist as the new president.
Outgoing President Voronin said the new vote ought to help rescue the former Soviet state from its serious political crisis. Voronin, leader of Moldova's Communist Party, has been president since 2001. He is forbidden from seeking a third four-year term.