Romania's governing coalition and suspended President Traian Basescu's team on Monday morning both claimed victory in the Sunday referendum in which the people were asked to decide whether Basescu should be dismissed or not. Their statements came despite a final verdict from the central electoral office on whether voter turnout was enough to validate the referendum, with preliminary figures showing that a necessary threshold of 50%+1 of listed voters has not been met.

According to preliminary data presented by the electoral office on Monday morning, with ballots from 97.52% of voting sections counted, some 46.13% of listed voters showed up and voted in the referendum to dismiss the president. Of the total number of active voters, 87.55% opted in favor of dismissing the president and 11.12% against it.

President Basescu had urged the people not to vote in the referendum, which he called a coup d'etat attempt by the governing coalitions' majority in the Parliament.

On Monday morning, Traian Basescu said that "they [the governing coalition] asked the people to validate a decision, the people said no. They have to wake up, to understand they did enough harm to Romania".

On the other hand, prime minister Victor Ponta, a leader of the governing coalition of Social Democrats and Liberals (USL), said on Monday morning that USL would not organize a new referendum to dismiss President Traian Basescu. He called the referendum results "extraordinary" and said the coalition will have to fulfill its duty towards the eight million Romanians who voted to dismiss the President and defend them from Basescu and "profiteers around him".

According to Ponta, "Basescu is dismissed politically, he no longer exists. He lives in his own world".

Other officials from Ponta's Social Democratic Party (PSD, part of the USL coalition) said on Monday morning that Basescu had the moral obligation to resign following the results of the referendum. And PSD member Valeriu Zgonea - who serves as speaker of the House of Deputies - warned that otherwise the political crisis would continue.