Romania votes on impeachment of President Traian Basescu
Romanians are voting today in a popular referendum on whether to impeach President Traian Basescu. The head of state has already been suspended by the Parliament few weeks ago with a majority of votes. Traian Basescu called on the Romanians to boycott the referendum. In order the result to be valid, the turnout has to be of 50+1 of the altogether electorate. This means that some 9.15 million out of 18.3 million people have to vote today to validate the referendum. The Romanians will also be able to cast their votes abroad in 306 locations. They are expected to vote between 7 AM to 11 PM local time.
The center-left government of Victor Ponta accuses Traian Basescu of overstepping his authority and blending in government affairs. Mr. Basescu denies these accusations.
EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding expressed her concern over the developments in Romania saying that she is worried about the rule of law in this country.
"I am still very much worried about the state of democracy in Romania and so is the commission,” Ms. Reding said during a press conference in Brussels this week.
A recent report issued by the Commission states that Romania has to re-establish the rule of law in the country in order to win the trust of the EU partners.
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said in a meeting with Prime Minister Victor Ponta that he is “deeply concerned about the current political developments in Romania.”
If the President will lose this referendum, new presidential elections will be held within three months. Otherwise, Mr. Basescu will remain in office until 2014.
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