Moldova's parliament will change the procedure for electing the president to try to resolve a political impasse that has left the former Soviet republic without a leader for more than two years, Reuters quoted parliamentary majority leaders as saying on Sunday. The president, who wields significant executive powers, is elected by parliament and a legislature that fails to elect a president has to be dissolved. The Alliance for European Integration, a coalition of pro-Western parties, has held a majority in the parliament since 2009 but does not have the needed 61 votes out of 101. Opposition communists have refused to compromise, dooming all attempts to elect a president and forcing the parliament to dissolve twice. On Sunday, the Alliance said a referendum to change the constitution was the only solution. It said it wanted the president to be elected by a simple majority, either in the parliament or in a popular vote. "We are ready to hold a referendum no later than April 2012 in order to elect the president within a month after that and resolve the political crisis," Vlad Filat, prime minister and one of the Alliance leaders, told reporters.
