Moldova strongman Voronin resigns

Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin announced on Friday he was resigning after the defeat of his Communist Party in elections ended its eight-year rule of Europe's poorest country.
He still has no clear successor, however, amid continued deadlock in parliament, which requires a three-fifths majority to elect a new head of state.
Voronin's statement on ceding power was registered in the secretariat of parliament, while the Communist Party's mouthpieces in the press printed a valedictory message.