Sandu Nominates Alexander Muntianu as Prime Minister as Opposition Rejects the Pick

Overview

• President Maia Sandu signed a decree on October 24 formally naming businessman Alexander Muntianu as the candidate for prime minister.
• The ruling PDS holds 55 of 101 seats in parliament, enabling it to install a government without opposition backing.
• The Socialist Party (PSRM) said it will not support Muntianu’s cabinet, and its leader Igor Dodon predicted a political crisis and possible early elections.
• Sandu issued a decree renaming the Supreme Security Council into a National Security Service, a step opposition figure Alexei Lungu argued amounts to creating a “second government” under the president.
• Sandu and parliamentary speaker Igor Grosu sued journalist Gheorghe Gonța for retractions and 100,000 lei in damages, while former prime minister Vladimir Filat accused authorities of pressuring the press.