Brussels, 27/07/2012 (Agence Europe) Both supporters and opponents of the removal from office of Centre-Right President Traian Basescu held their final meetings before Sunday's referendum to decide the fate of Basescu, who is currently suspended. Opponents of Basescu and supporters of Prime Minister Victor Ponta's coalition government called for Romanians to vote en masse, while those supporting Basescu called for the election to be boycotted.
Basescu himself indicated that, “on Sunday, we will not go and vote so as not to endorse a coup d'état”. According to a decision by the Romanian Constitutional Court, the election will only be valid if 50% (+1) of Romanians registered actually vote. Supporters of the suspended president are therefore counting on a high abstention rate to enable him to keep his job. Basescu stated that, “whatever the result of the vote, my conscience is clear because I've done my best to strengthen the rule of law and Romania's place in the European Union and NATO”.
The European Commission has been highly critical of the political problems affecting the country over the past several weeks. On 18 July, the Commission reiterated its concerns in its report on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), putting Romania under closer monitoring and calling on Ponta to comply with a list of 11 demands (see EUROPE 10658).
In a press release published on 26 July, the Austrian leader of the S&D Group at the European Parliament, Hannes Swoboda, said that it was “crucial” that the Romanian people vote on Sunday and made their choice. He also said that the turn-out of the Romanian people in this election would a perfect illustration that democracy was functioning in the country. (SP/transl.fl)