In his tenure as President, Inculeț reluctantly allowed the Romanian Land Forces to assume effective control of the country, hoping to use them against the Bolshevik insurgents. Urged on by Inculeț, Ciugureanu and Pantelimon Erhan, "Sfatul" declared the republic's full independence on January 23, 1918. In March, this was reversed by a new vote on union, with Inculeț and Ciugureanu becoming Ministers for Bessarabia in the Romanian cabinet of Alexandru Marghiloman. Both of them, together with Pelivan, were elected to the Assembly of Deputies for Romanian colleges in the summer 1918 race.