President Voronin to resign

The Party of Communists (PC) had a country-wide meeting today, during which President Voronin presented a report about the party's current activities.

At the end of the gathering, Mr. Voronin, who is also PC head, said the following:

"As party President during this critical moment for the Homeland and the party, I do not intend to remain in the rather uncertain and ambiguous situation of acting President. I have no ethical or political basis to formally exercise this position. So, I am going to Parliament as an M.P., in order to stand alongside the party and the faction. I will be with you on the frontlines."

After Mr. Voronin resigns, Speaker Mihai Ghimpu will be the interim head of state until a new one is elected.

It is unclear if the ruling Alliance for European Integration will manage to do so because it is eight votes short of being able to vote in its own candidate. Those eight votes have to come from the Party of Communists, which has been rather reluctant to negotiate.