





Romania Parliament takes note of Constitutional Court decision invalidating referendum to dismiss president. Traian Basescu to return to Presidency
The Constitutional Court decided last Tuesday that the July 29 referendum to dismiss President Traian Basescu was not valid because the necessary threshold was not met.
The decision prompted an outcry among politicians of the Social Democratic-Liberal governing alliance (USL), who said they would comply with it, but would consider it unfair. USL MPs had voted earlier this summer to suspend President Basescu and call for a referendum to dismiss him. During the procedures, Liberal leader Crin Antonescu took over as interim president.
The whole political crisis, which sparked international criticism about the rule of law in Romania, closed to an end last week with the Court decision that the referendum was invalid, meaning Basescu should return to Presidency. In order to take effect, the decision had to be read in Parliament and then published in the Official Gazette.
But USL politicians tried over the past several days to block the procedures. And on Monday they announced a boycott of the reading in the Parliament, thus preventing the necessary quorum for the session to take place. Eventually, the quorum was met two hours later with only two dozen MPs more than the necessary threshold showing up for the procedure.
Vasile Blaga, leader of Basescu's parliamentary supporters, the Democratic-Liberals (PDL), said after the session that the party had not negotiated with any political group so that the quorum be met.