BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania's Constitutional Court said Tuesday, July 10, that a majority of the electorate must turn out to vote in order for a referendum on ousting the president to be valid, a ruling that may make it harder for President Traian Basescu's opponents to push him out.
The court’s decision is the latest development in a growing power struggle in Romania
between factions loyal to Basescu and those supporting his rival, Prime
Minister Victor Ponta. The wrangling has led to international concern
about the fate of democracy in the eastern European nation, which
emerged from communism in 1989.
Last Friday, parliament, which is
dominated by Ponta backers, voted to impeach Basescu, accusing him of
meddling in affairs that are the province of the prime minister, trying
to influence judicial affairs and making bigoted remarks about Gypsies
and disabled people. Basescu has denied any wrongdoing, saying that he
may be outspoken but that he has not committed “grave violations” of the
constitution.
On Monday, the Constitutional Court upheld the
decision to impeach, setting the stage for a July 29 national referendum
on whether Basescu should be removed from office. But Tuesday’s court
ruling provides some relief for Basescu’s camp, because getting a 50
percent turnout of the electorate is by no means a certainty in Romania.
According to the most recent census, there are 18 million potential voters in Romania,
meaning at least 9 million would have to vote. But the voter census
data are believed to be outdated, and more recent population counts put
the number of all Romanians at 19 million.
Basescu became
president in 2004, and was impeached in 2007 but survived a referendum.
He is a center-right politician, though as president he is not allowed
to be a member of any party. Unlike presidencies in some European
nations, Basescu’s position is not merely ceremonial. He is elected in a
popular vote and is in charge of foreign policy, the powerful
intelligence services and the country’s defense policies.
Ponta
heads the left-leaning Social Democratic Party. He became prime minister
May 7, the third in four months after the previous two were ousted over
unpopular cuts to spending and other economic austerity measures.
Unlike his predecessors who were deferential to Basescu, Ponta has moved
instead to sideline Basescu and his allies.
The coalition of
Social Democrats and Liberals led by Ponta did very well in June local
elections, but Ponta’s popularity has declined after he was accused of
plagiarizing large sections of his 2004 doctoral thesis, accusations
subsequently upheld by a Romanian academic panel.
Ponta, 39, has
conceded that he did not credit his sources in footnotes, leaving the
credits to the bibliography, but claims the accusations are politically
manipulated by Basescu. The latest political turmoil has also dented his
government’s popularity.
Basescu, 60, a former sea captain has
become increasingly unpopular in recent years due to the imposition of
the austerity measures and also his confrontational style. But some
believe he has been treated unfairly by the heavy-handed impeachment
process.
Ponta’s government said it will comply with Tuesday’s
court ruling. Meanwhile, the prime minister has been asked to visit
Brussels on Thursday to discuss his country’s political turmoil with
European Union officials.
EU officials have questioned the speed with which Romania’s
Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment and want Ponta to explain
the situation. “We are concerned by the speed and consequences of
decisions taken over the last few weeks,” EU spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde
Hansen said.
Romania joined the EU in 2007.
