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| DECISIONS AND EXPLANATIONS |
| (2007-05-04) |
| Last updated: 2007-05-04 20:07 EET |
Romania’s Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected the appeal launched by the Democratic Party, regarding Parliament’s amending the referendum law. Under the amended law, President Traian Basescu, who has recently been suspended, could be impeached by a majority of those who show up to vote in the referendum.
This is the court’s third decision on the unconstitutional character of certain texts in the referendum law; it reveals, firstly, the existence of several legislative matters that are unclear, which have become apparent rather late, only when certain articles are applied. Secondly, it indicates the intensity of the domestic crisis, in which politicians are making use of all possible means to crush their adversaries.
Based on the court’s decision, President Traian Basescu said he would not comment on the judges’ ruling and expressed confidence he will win the May the 19th referendum, in spite of the unfavourable legislative change. The supporters of the suspended president say that because the suspension process and the impeachment process started a few weeks ago, the amended law can’t be applied in the case of this referendum.
An expert, Professor Lucian Mihai, a former member of the Constitutional Court, believes we will find out the truth only after May the 19th.
”There are strong arguments to consider that this new provision in the referendum law is not applicable on May the 19th, because it means the law would be applied retroactively. And here are the arguments: the election campaign for the referendum has already started, and the referendum law has been amended during this campaign, which ,according to the Constitution, is part of the referendum process; so this means it is applied retroactively in the case of this referendum”.
In this context, we asked Lucian Mihai the question: who will have the last word?
"We will be able to answer this question only after the referendum has been held. And the answer will be given by the Constitutional Court, which will receive the results of the referendum from the Central Electoral Bureau and will decide on the validity of the results. The Court will decide if the new legislative provision is applicable in the case of this referendum or not.”
In an interview carried by Friday’s issue of the daily paper ROMANIA LIBERA, Traian Basescu says that after he has returned to the Cotroceni Palace, he will also use the referendum as a lever to put in place a series of reforms, such as the uninominal vote, a one-chamber parliament and a presidential or a parliamentary republic. As the results of recent opinion polls show, the president stands high chances of winning the referendum, regardless of whether the old or the new law is applied. There is still a rather big problem: how will he function alongside the quite large body of politicians who want to see the back of him?
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2025-04-04
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