ROMANIA: Romanians reject move by parliament to impeach reformist President Traian Basescu

Two exit polls released after voting ended at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) showed between 75 and 78 percent voted "no" to plans to impeach Basescu. Exact turnout figures were not available but were likely to be just below 50 percent. Official results are due on Sunday (May 20). Parliament suspended Basescu as president last month and called the referendum on the grounds he had overstepped his authority and pushed the European Union newcomer into a political deadlock. Many Romanians see the ex-sea captain they elected president in 2004 as an anti-corruption crusader. Their verdict is a humiliation to Liberal Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu and his Social Democrat allies who led the impeachment drive. "The result of this vote is a must, not only for me, but for all politicians: the president of Romania and the parliament of Romania," a smiling Basescu told cheering supporters in Bucharest. He said he would push ahead with his anti-sleaze drive and seek a reform of the electoral system to make politicians more directly accountable to their voters. His opponents signalled they accepted the verdict. Basescu accused Tariceanu of shielding a network of corrupt politicians and the new business elites that enriched themselves during transition from communism to a market economy. Tariceanu denies the charges. He says Basescu has an autocratic style and insatiable "thirst for power". Corruption is endemic in the ex-communist Black Sea nation, which joined the EU in January on the premise it would continue judicial reforms needed to root out graft.

ITN Source | May 20, 2007

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