The joint permanent boards of the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament decided on Monday to postpone a final say again on a presidential proposal for a referendum to introduce uninominal votes in Romanian general elections. The boards passed responsibility and urged the judicial committees to draft a decision on President Basescu’s proposal in this regard.

The issue of such a referendum has sparked intense controversies in the extremely tense Romanian politics as it fueled tensions between the head of state and many parties from both the opposition and the government coalition over the past several weeks.

The Parliament was expected to give its verdict on the issue last week but was forced to reconsider a vote on the proposal as the number of MPs supporting it was not enough.