Moldova holds referendum on direct presidential ballots

Moldovans went to polls Sunday to cast ballots on a constitutional amendment for the reintroduction of direct presidential elections, dpa reported.

The pro-Europe government supports the suggested constitutional change as a way of resolving a long-running political crisis in the former Soviet republic.

Polls opened at 7 am without incident, with polling scheduled to run until 9 pm, the Interfax news agency reported.

It was the first-ever Moldovan national vote using computerised voter rolls. More than 250 international observers were in the country to monitor polling, according to the report.

Initial vote counts would be announced Monday evening, Moldova's Central Election Commission said.

The referendum proposes replacing the current system of electing a president by a 61-member majority of the 101-seat parliament with a direct national popular vote.

The current ruling four-party coalition controls 60 seats in the legislature and has been in power since July 2009.

The opposition Communist Party controls the remaining 41 seats in the national parliament, and has refused to give the coalition the single vote necessary to select a president.

The impasse has left Moldova in a political crisis for more than a year. Legislation approved by the coalition-controlled parliament cannot be signed into law, because the president's office is vacant.

Bloody street riots in April 2009 following a parliamentary election that gave the Communists victory. Mass protests against vote fraud in the Communists' favour forced a repeat election in July, won by the coalition.