The Romanian president Traian Basescu, who survived the presidential impeachment referendum and is set to return to the helm of the country, said he felt stronger than ever after this vote. This was a response to an earlier statement by the Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who said he is no longer a legitimate head of state after eight million people voted against him. According to partial results, the majority of the votes in the referendum were for the impeachment of the president, but the vote was invalid, as not enough Romanians attended it.

“Unfortunately for Ponta, I am stronger than ever after this vote. Mr. Ponta forgets that when I was elected president of Romania in December 2009, I had 5.2 million votes against me. After three years of crisis, I can accept one million extra,” said Basescu.

On the other side, the PM said a politician who ignores the vote of around nine million people is disconnected from reality and should seriously reflect to what extent he is still the legitimate president of Romania. The PM labeled the result of the vote a 'victory', a statement of the fact that Romania is a democracy. He said he will respect the result of the vote.

The Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), supporters of president Traian Basescu and the president himself did not attend the vote. “I didn't want to validate a referendum that featured girls in bikinis with my presence,” explained the president, referring to Constanta mayor Radu Mazare who attended the vote accompanied by a group of bikini clad girls.

On Sunday, Basescu continually asked Romanians to boycott the vote, later saying that the number of votes against him was artificially inflated.

editor@romania-insider.com