President Maia Sandu on Friday nominated the former finance minister and a close political ally to the post of prime minister.
Ms Sandu said she had “every confidence” that Harvard-educated Natalia Gavrilita “will come with a team that has integrity and professionalism… and we will have a new government and new start for the country.”
It is the second time the president has nominated her political ally as prime minister. The former Parliament, then dominated by pro-Russian groups, rejected her nomination in February.
Maia Sandu then called the snap parliamentary elections which were held in July to consolidate her power and won a comfortable majority.
„People expect a change for the better and for that we need firm actions and competent decisions that will have the interest of our citizens at heart,” the president wrote on social media on Friday.
The 43-year-old has 15 days to form her cabinet and submit a governing program to parliament for approval.
The vote is likely to be a formality as her Action and Solidarity Party, PAS, has a comfortable majority. It holds 63 of the 101 seats in the legislature.
Ms Sandu, who advocates closer ties with the European Union and the United States, defeated her Moscow-backed predecessor Igor Dodon in a presidential election in November.
If she becomes the new prime minister, the top two positions will be held by women. Ms Sandu previously also served as prime minister.
The pair ran the Action and Solidarity Party and Ms Gavrilita was finance minister for five months in 2019 when the president was prime minister.
