Voronin re-elected president of Moldova

Moldova's incumbent president, the Communist, Vladimir Voronin was reelected in a vote in parliament.

Voronin won 75 votes in the 101-seat legislature, more than the 61 needed to become president, reports Associated Press. His party secured the majority at the parliamentary elections the last month. Moldova is a parliamentary republic.

The only alternative candidate was Gheorghe Duca, a former ecology minister in the Communist government from 2001 to 2004. He was proposed by the Communists because at least two candidates are constitutionally required to validate the vote. Duca won only one vote.

Voronin, 63, became the leader of the nation's Communist party in 1994. In 1996 he ran unsuccessfully for the presidency. He was elected the President for the first term in April 2001.