Romanian president announces start of procedures for new referendum

Romanian president Traian Basescu recently said that he has started the procedure to organize a new referendum, where people would again decide on having a single chamber Parliament and a maximum of 300 MPs. A similar referendum was organized in 2009, when the majority of those who voted were in favor of a smaller Parliament. The president now says he will issue the decree to organize a new referendum depending on how Parliament chooses to respect the will of the people from 2009. Basescu criticized the project to change the Constitution, which is currently ongoing, saying it refuses to put into force what people want. “In my opinion, this attitude of the majority from the Social Liberal Union USL, which rejects applying the 2009 referendum, has nothing to do with democracy and with the people on behalf of which the Parliament says it works,” said Basescu. He added that the timing is good, as the Constitution revision has not ended and that there is a chance for the Parliament to respect the 2009 referendum result. His decision to issue the presidential decree for the referendum will also take into account the changes to the referendum law, and whether the attendance threshold is to go down to 30 percent. “I am determined to convince MPs to respect the vote of the people,” said Basescu. His message to Romanians was to trust that he will fight to make their will become reality. A commission tasked with revising Romania's Constitution is currently working on this project, and it is being lead by USL co-leader Crin Antonescu. Should the referendum be organized, it would be the second such costly event after last year's referendum on whether to suspend the country's president, which was however invalidated. The country spent some EUR 22 million to organize the 2012 referendum. editor@romania-insider.com