Moldova elects new President after 3 years

Moldova’s parliament brought a three-year-long constitutional crisis to an end on Friday, March 16 by electing a former judge, Nicolae Timofti, as the country’s president.

Timofti, who is 63, had been nominated by Moldova’s ruling pro-European coalition and was the only candidate for the president’s office.

He received 62 votes in the 101-seat assembly today (16 March). The opposition Communists, in power until three years ago, boycotted the vote.

“Our national idea should be European integration,” Timofti said in a speech to parliament after his election. “I will do everything in my power so that, along with the government and the legislature, we can obtain results. People need to see the changes not just in the laws, but in their own lives,” he said.