Moldova's prime minister has acknowledged that a referendum to make presidents directly elected has failed.
Although the count was not yet final, Vlad Filat said it was unlikely that the minimum one-third voter turnout would be met.
The election commission said turnout was just under 30% with only votes cast abroad left to count.
The parliament currently elects the president, but no candidate has won the required 60% majority since last year.
"The electorate appears to have been less active than we had hoped," said Prime Minister Filat, one of the main backers of the referendum.
"It seems most likely we will not be able to count on clearing the necessary 33% barrier for recognising the validity of the referendum," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.
BBC News
