US Ambassador calls for constitutional referendum in Romania

The Government should take executive action to ensure that the organization and conduct of the impeachment referendum of Traian Basescu is fully consistent with the most recent Constitutional Court ruling, said US Ambassador Mark Gitenstein, on Wednesday, in a press statement.

The Constitutional Court (CCR) ruled out on Tuesday that the law that modifies the referendum is constitutional only if it ensures the participation of at least half plus one of the registered voters. Thus, around 9.2 million have to head to the polls in the impeachment referendum organized on July 29, to say if they want Traian Basescu out of office.

The Ponta government passed a government ordinance last Friday that amends the referendum law so that the president can be impeached by half plus one of the Romanian that go out to vote.

Gitenstein said that both PM Victor Ponta and interim president Crin Antonescu reassured him they will respect all the decisions of CCR.

PM Ponta sent a request letter to the Parliament to convene an extraordinary meeting in order to update the referendum law with the latest CCR decisions.

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The US Ambassador warned that Romania may slip into a “very dangerous constitutional crisis” if the referendum is conducted without the provisions of the CCR ruling.

Crin Antonescu met with the US Ambassador shortly after taking the mandate from Traian Basescu on Tuesday morning.

PM Ponta left today in Brussels where he will present the recent political developments in Romania to the heads of the EU institutions. Ponta will meet with the president of the European Council, Martin Schulz, as well as with the president of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, and the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso.

Ovidiu Posirca