Recount In Moldova

From the AP:

Moldova's president on Friday called for a recount of ballots in last weekend's Parliamentary elections to restore stability in a country rocked by riots and claims of voting fraud.

President Vladimir Voronin said the recount would prove to skeptics that his governing Communist Party fairly won Sunday's election in the former Soviet republic.

"The elections were democratic and free," Voronin said in a statement.

Anti-communist protesters who claimed the election was rigged stormed Parliament and the president's office in Chisinau on Tuesday in riots that left more than 90 injured and led to 200 arrests.

Official results said the Communists won about 50 percent of the votes in the election, which international observers declared fair.

"I call on the Constitutional Court to wholly recount the votes," Voronin said. The president said he was firmly convinced that the recount would "become an important argument for political stability, peace and mutual trust in the Republic of Moldova."

Meanwhile, about 200 protesters urging the Communist government to resign held a rally Friday in the capital. The protesters — mostly students — shouted "Down with the Communists!" and "Resignation!"

"It's good that the youth have woken up," said Timofte Croitaru, an 82-year-old retiree joining the protest. "My pension doesn't cover my living costs."