Thousands of Romanians living in New York are expected to vote in the referendum aimed at dismissing suspending President Traian Basescu on Saturday. The vote takes place at the Romanian Consulate in the Big Apple, which opened for voting at 8.00 a.m. local time (3 p.m. Romanian time).

The electoral commission is formed of members of the Romanian Diaspora in NY, headed by director and journalist Timotei Ursu.

The Romanian Consulate in New York is among the first opened for the Romanian referendum in the United States. It covers Boston, Philadelphia, Bridgeport and New York. Some 3,000 Romanian citizens are expected to vote there, with a majority of votes to be cast in the second half of the day.

Some 60,000 Romanians live in the New York region, but unofficial accounts put the number at over 100,000. Some 1,200 people voted there in the 2004 general elections.

Other sections in the United States await Romanian voters in Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, at honorary consulates in Dallas, Detroit and Las Vegas as well as in other locations in Cleveland and Houston.