A referendum that could have solved a one-and-a-half year-old political deadlock in Moldova, which could not elect a head of state for lack of parliamentary majority, has failed.
Several attempts to elect a successor to Communist leader Vladimir Voronin, who stepped down in September last year after completing two consecutive four-year presidential terms, failed.
Marian Lupu, the candidate fielded by the pro-Western four-party ruling coalition, is just one vote short of a 61-member majority required to get elected to the 101-member-Parliament.
It called for a referendum on a constitutional amendment, so that the current system of selecting the President from a vote of Parliament could be replaced by a direct election open to all registered voters.
But the referendum held on Sunday became invalid, as it failed to register a one-third voter turnout.
The Central Election Committee (CEC) said only 30.98 per cent of the registered voters participated in the referendum. The Communists-led Opposition parties called for a boycott of the vote.
Prime Minister Vlad Filat called for an early snap poll as a way out of the impasse. A failure to achieve a breakthrough has deepened the poor European country's constitutional crisis.
The Constitution requires Moldova's Parliament to dissolve itself and hold new elections if the legislature is unable to elect a President in two attempts.
The last general election was held in July 2009, the second in four months, that reversed the swing in favor of the pro-Western Opposition coalition, ending a nine-year rule by the Communists.
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June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.