Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin called on Friday for a recount of a disputed election after violent protests by opponents who say his ruling Communist Party rigged it, according to Reuters. Voronin, Europe's only ruling Communist, formally asked the Constitutional Court to rule on a recount of Sunday's vote, saying it would help restore calm. The court is dominated by his supporters and very likely to agree. "I, as chairman of the party which gained undoubted victory in the fair and democratic contest, approach the Constitutional Court for a clear decision on the need for a full recount of the votes cast in the parliamentary election," he was quoted as saying by Moldova's Omega news agency. "A full recount ... would be an important argument for the restoration of political stability, peace and mutual confidence in the Moldovan Republic." Thousands of demonstrators looted and set fire to the parliament and the president's offices in Chisinau on Tuesday in the worst violence to sweep the Moldovan capital in decades.
