Russia Press: Medvedev "Picks" New Moldova President

President of Russia Dmitrii Medvedev (L) shakes hands with Marian Lupu, candidate for presidency of Moldova during bilateral meeting during the Summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States on 09 October 2009 in Chisinau, Moldova. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, has in fact "chosen" the next president of Moldova by holding a meeting with a key member of the Moldovan parliament.

Those are the comments of Russian newspapers on the weekend visit by President Medvedev to Moldova.

Medvedev met Friday with Marian Lupu, a former communist who established his own opposition party, the Democratic Party, now part of a pro-European alliance.

The meeting took place on the margins of a summit of the Community of Independent States (CIS), a Russia-centered regional organization.

"Medvedev discussed with Lupu as if he were the president of the Republic of Moldova," the Russian daily Kommersant wrote, also quoting an unnamed aide to Medvedev, who said that Lupu is "probably the next president".

Significantly, Medvedev neglected to meet Vladimir Voronin, leader of the Communist party and a former president of the country, despite Voronin's requests.

On October 7 the Moldova’s parliament decided that it would hold a vote to elect the country's new president on October 23. In order to elect a president, a minimum of 61 votes in the 101-seat single chamber parliament is needed. A minimum of eight Communist votes are needed to elect Lupu, a former communist who established his own opposition party, the Democratic Party, now part of a pro-European alliance.

"The attention of the Russian president to the candidate Lupu could well influence the election results," Russian daily Kommersant writes. If the parliament fails to elect a president before November 11, acting President Mihai Ghimpu must dissolve the assembly and fix a date for fresh elections, which will be held no earlier than next year.

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