A New Interim President for Romania

The surprising ruling of the court stipulates that at least half of Romania’s eligible voters must take part in the referendum for it to be valid. The decision further complicates the proceedings aimed at impeaching president Basescu launched by the ruling Social Liberal Union.

A turnout of over 50% in a referendum is no easy task, considering many people are away on holiday. Victor Ponta’s government last week adopted an emergency ordinance according to which a simple majority is enough to impeach the president, thus giving rise to a “constitutional controversy”. Both the prime minister and the interim president Crin Antonescu say the rulings of the Constitutional Court will be observed.

On the other hand, the two officials want to dispel all the confusion of Western officials, who have expressed their concern over the fast pace of the latest developments in Romania and their possible consequences. Crin Antonescu has also called on the Romanian opposition not to distort in any means Romania’s image abroad through fear-mongering.

Crin Antonescu: “I call on everyone not to endanger Romania’s national interest and its image by exaggerating what is happening in Romania”.

Crin Antonescu went on to say that Romania continues to be a solid constitutional state. The referendum on July 29th will pass a verdict on a political conflict, a verdict which everyone will observe, Crin Antonescu added. Despite Antonescu’s repeated pleas for normality, Western powers have shown signs of concern regarding the next moves on the Romanian political scene.

If Basescu is removed from office, early presidential elections will have to be held, some time before the legislative elections in November. Some political pundits have argued that this adds further complications to the Romanian political scene, which is becoming increasingly difficult to predict.

Today in the News from Radio Romania International