Romanians reject referendum bid to impeach president

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Romanians reject referendum bid to impeach president

May 20, 2007 12:34:00 pm

[JURIST] Romanian voters Saturday rejected a referendum proposal to impeach reformist President Traian Basescu [official website, English version; BBC profile]. Basescu was suspended [JURIST report] by the opposition-dominated parliament last month for allegedly abusing his powers.

Earlier this month, the Romanian Constitutional Court [official website] upheld an opposition-sponsored bill [JURIST report] making it easier to remove the president by reducing the number of popular votes required for impeachment. Basescu, who was elected in December 2004 and has targeted corruption, is the most popular politician in Romania. Reuters has more.

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