Polling stations opened Sunday in Moldova for parliamentary elections that aim to end the protracted stalemate over the selection of a president, dpa reported.
The vote is the third parliamentary election in less than two years. The two previous legislatures were unable to muster the supermajority necessary to elect a president.
Moldova has held four nationwide elections since April 2009. The last, in September, was a referendum to change the constitution to allow for direct presidential election.
The overwhelming majority of voters backed the change, but the turnout was too small for the referendum to be valid.
A total of 20 parties and 19 individual candidates were vying Sunday for the 101-seat legislature. Polls suggested that only four parties were likely to enter parliament: the Communist Party, the Democratic Party, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Liberal Party.