CHISINAU, Moldova, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The Moldovan Constitutional Court has thrown out the results of December's presidential election and canceled the runoff scheduled for next week.
The court said some members of parliament violated the law by showing how they marked their ballots on television, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported Thursday.
The president is elected by parliament and needs to get the votes of 61 of the 101 deputies to win.
Parliamentary speaker Marian Lupu won 58 votes on Dec. 16. The deputies who showed off their ballots did so to show their support for him.
The date for a new election will be up to parliament.
Moldova is a small, poor and landlocked former Soviet republic. The country has been without a full-time president for more than two years.
