She seeks to replace the current Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin, who has had two presidential terms and cannot run for the post according to the constitution. In Wednesday’s poll, she received 60 votes, which is still not enough.

Her only opponent is famous doctor and academician Stanislav Gropa, another communist nominee. A Moldovan constitutional court ruled that at least two candidates must be on the ballot for a presidential election to be valid.

The parliament will make one more attempt to elect a president on May 28. Communists are trying to sway the opposition by offering them the position of vice-speaker of the parliament and control over four out of five parliamentary commissions. If the second vote fails too, the parliament will be disbanded and a new parliamentary election will take place this summer.

“We’ll push for early elections, which must provide equal conditions for all parties, in a correct way, and without threats. The present parliament has no legitimacy, since the voting was rigged,” said the leader of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party Vlad Filat.

The previous election in April was marked by civil riots in the capital Chisinau, when crowds of mostly young people stormed the parliament and the building of the presidential administration. They were protesting against what they called rigged ballot. The government accused the opposition and foreign “agents of influence” of masterminding the violent events.