BUCHAREST, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Moldovan Cabinet of Prime Minister Valeriu Strelet was dismissed Thursday through a no-confidence vote in parliament put forward by opposition parties PCRM (Party of Communists) and PSRM (Party of Socialists).
After four hours of debate, the motion of censure was voted on with 65 of 101 members of parliament (MPs), including the Democrats of the ruling coalition, in favor of impeachment.
Only the Liberal Democratic MPs led by the prime minister voted against the motion, while the Liberal lawmakers of the three-party governing coalition abstained, according to news reaching here from Moldova's capital Chisinau.
Earlier this week, the Democratic Party expressed its intentions to Strelet to hold a no-confidence vote and urged him to resign. The Democrats proposed re-forming the governing coalition and forming a new parliamentary majority. However, the prime minister rejected the proposal and stated he would defend the government's position in the parliament.
Before the motion was put to vote, the prime minister said in his last speech that the adoption of the motion would represent an act of betrayal against the foreign partners that believe in Moldova's European future. It could also cause a period of financial blockage, as the negotiation of a new memorandum with the IMF could be postponed, he said.
According to Strelet, the vote was a test for the present and future of Moldova and for the country's European course.
He denied having been involved in corruption schemes and said he considered the no-confidence move part of the denigration campaign launched against him.
Last week, 42 PCRM and PSRM MPs submitted the censure motion against the Strelet government, invoking suspicions of corruption hovering over Strelet and cabinet members.
The Strelet government was sworn into office in Chisinau on July 30, 2015.
