Moldova`s Communists to make decision on talks with coalition Sat

CHISINAU, August 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Moldova's Communists will make a
decision on Saturday whether to enter into talks with the emerging ruling
coalition Alliance for European Integration over the election of the
country's leadership at a full-scale meeting of the party's central
committee on Saturday, the head of the Communists' election team, member
of parliament Mark Tkachuk told the media on Friday.
His statement followed an invitation from the leaders of the four
coalition parties - the Liberals, the Liberal Democrats, the Democrats and
the alliance Our Moldova - to start talks on August 25 over electing a new
president.
On Friday, the coalition parties tried to hand over the proposal to
the incumbent president, Communist leader Vladimir Voronin, at the
ceremony of the distribution of legislators' mandates, but he refrained
from taking it for the time being.
"We shall decide all matters at the plenary meeting. When it is over,
we shall come out with an official statement," Tkachuk said.
Earlier, Voronin, who is at the end of his second and last term of
office, declared the readiness for talks with the representatives of the
coalition.
"We do not wish early parliamentary elections and we shall do our
utmost not to step on the same rake we stepped on in the April 5
elections," Voronin said. He was referring to a situation in which the
Communists, who fell short of the required majority in parliament failed
to agree with the Opposition on electing a new president and the national
legislature had to be disbanded.
On Tuesday, Voronin issued a decree to schedule the first session of
the newly-elected parliament for August 28. The parliament was formed
after the July 29 early elections. The Communists lost their majority to
have collected 48 mandates of the 101. The other four parties have 53
mandates to share. Their leaders declared an intention to form a ruling
coalition and have been conducting negotiations behind closed doors on the
distribution of key posts in the country. They have already declared they
will not let the Communists take any posts in the executive bodies of
power. However, the election of president requires 61 votes in parliament
and they will have to seek a compromise with the Communists, who earlier
declared their would go into firm opposition. If two attempts to elect a
president fail, the parliament will be disbanded and Moldova will call
early elections at the beginning of next year.