Moldovan court agrees to stage election recount

MOLDOVA’S Constitutional Court agreed yesterday to a request from President Vladimir Voronin to stage a recount of last week’s election in which a victory by his Communist Party sparked violent protests.

Voronin submitted the request on grounds that a recount could re-establish calm in the former Soviet republic wedged between Ukraine and Romania after anti-communist protesters this week ransacked the president’s office and parliament.

The president accuses opposition parties of plotting a coup and says Romania fomented the turmoil in a country bordering the EU but beset by a post-Soviet “frozen conflict”.