Romanian President Traian Basescu, suspended by parliament for alleged abuse of power, easily survived a referendum on his impeachment, exit polls showed.
Three-quarters of voters in Saturday's referendum said they did not want Basescu ousted from office, according to one exit poll conducted by Insomar Metro Media. A second poll, conducted by CURS, put the figure at 78.1 percent.
Just last month, parliament suspended Basescu -- who has been locked in a political standoff with the prime minister and lawmakers -- saying he violated the Constitution by usurping the role of the prime minister and criticizing the courts.
Basescu, an outspoken ex-mayor who is a strong proponent of anti-corruption reforms for the new EU member, said Saturday's referendum showed that the Romanian people, too, back the reforms.
"Romanians want justice, and we have an obligation to give them what they want," he told supporters. "I appeal to parliament to cooperate in taking into account today's vote."
Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu said late on Saturday that he would work with Basescu.
"Romanians gave Traian Basescu a second chance," he said. "I respect this decision and will act in a spirit of collaboration with the president."
Tariceanu is expected to come under pressure from his Liberal Party base to work more closely with Basescu, after exit polls showed that a majority of Liberal supporters voted for the president.
Hundreds of Basescu supporters gathered in a central square in Bucharest to celebrate, carrying orange flags and banners.
They chanted the president's name and called for Tariceanu's resignation. Basescu joined the celebrations and told supporters he would do "everything possible" to modernize the country.
"I will not negotiate the people's hopes for a modern country, a new Romania that is different than the one which emerged during the transition" from communism, he said.
"Nobody wants a Romania owned by oligarchs anymore," he added, referring to the wealthy businessmen and politicians who he said took control of the country during the transition from communism.
The prime minister and Basescu, former allies, had clashed on policy and had attacked one another in the media. Last month, Tariceanu expelled several Cabinet ministers seen as being close to Basescu, including reformist Justice Minister Monica Macovei.
The dispute between the two leaders was seized upon by the left-wing opposition Social Democratic Party, which proposed impeaching Basescu, who had ousted it from power in 2004. Four other ruling and opposition parties, including Tariceanu's joined in voting to suspend the president last month despite a court ruling that Basescu did not abuse his powers.
Social Democrat leader Mircea Geoana acknowledged defeat, but warned that Basescu had "won a victory without glory," because turnout had been relatively low. Geoana said his party, which is the largest in parliament, would return to people's priorities such as pensions and health care.
"We must learn our lessons," he said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in
REGIONAL TENSIONS: China boosted spending on its military for the 29th straight year, raising it by 6% to US$296bn, while Taiwan spent US$16.6bn, an 11% increase Global military expenditure recorded its steepest increase in over a decade last year, reaching an all-time high of US$2.4 trillion as wars and rising tensions fueled spending across the world, researchers said yesterday. Military spending rose across the globe with particularly large increases in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). “Total military spending is at an all-time high ... and for the first time since 2009, we saw spending increase across all five geographical regions,” SIPRI senior researcher Nan Tian said. Military spending rose by 6.8 percent last year, the