Moldova's parliament elected a veteran judge of neutral political stripe to be the country's president on Friday, ending a three-year hiatus that had delayed reform in the poor, ex-Soviet republic. "After 917 days, the epic of electing a president is over," parliamentary commission chairman Tudor Deliu told deputies, after the announcement that Nicolae Timofti, 63, had mustered at least the required 61 votes.
Timofti was put forward by the ruling Alliance for European Integration to break the impasse caused by communist opposition to its previous candidate, an Alliance leader.