Commission recommends to postpone vote on Moldovan president.

CHISINAU, October 22 (Itar-Tass) - The special commission on arranging
the election of Moldova's president by the parliament has recommended to
postpone the October 23 vote until a later date.
At a meeting on Wednesday, the commission stated a number of
oversights in the election law and prepared amendments.
On Tuesday, the Commission's chairman, Ion Plesca, stated that the
election would be postponed because only one candidate had been
registered: leader of the Democratic Party Marian Lupu.
"International practice has it that elections should be held on
alternative basis," Plesca said.
For its part, the Communist Party, which is now the Opposition with 48
of 101 mandates in the parliament, has already stated it would not vote
for president on non-alternative basis.
The Communists also refused to support Lupu, whom they regard as "a
traitor" after his walking out on the Communist Party.
"In this situation, the support for him implies treachery with respect
to a majority of Moldovan citizens," said the former president, Communist
leader Vladimir Voronin.
At the same time, an influential Communist lawmaker, former first
deputy speaker Vladimir Turcan warned Voronin in a letter that "an early
election will not benefit the state and is dangerous for it and the whole
society, as well as for parliament factions, including the Communist
Party."
"We must reach an accord with the sound political forces in the
parliament. We must think abut supporting Lupu's candidacy, who is an
experienced person, with a balanced approach to his actions," Turcan said.
The head of state is elected by 61 votes. The ruling coaltion "For
European Integration" falls short of eight votes to elect Lupu, the
nominee of its choice.
Under the election law, the president must be elected within two moths
from the date of resignation of Voronin, i.e. before November 11.
Two attempts to elect the president can be made before the deadline.
If the parliament fails to elect the head of state, its acting speaker
- Mihai Ghimpu -- will dissolve the legislative assembly and set the date
for early parliamentary election, which can only take place next year.
On Wednesday, the Communists appealed at the Constitutional Court the
dismissal of head of the republic's information and security service Artur
Resetnicov, and his replacement by Gheorghe Mihai.
The Communists argued that his dismissal contradicts a number of
provisions of the Constitution, including the division of the branches of
power in the state, and violates the international law, free access to
justice, presumption of innocence, the right to defense and the right to
labor.
Resetnicov, 34, was appointed chief of secret services in 2007, when
the Communists were at the helm.
Prior to that, he was advisor on legal issues to the Moldovan
president.
Resetnicov was dismissed after Alliance for European Integration came
to power.