Romanian Constitutional Court Decides Nov 22 Referendum Was Legitimate

Four Romanian non-governmental organizations recently asked the Ombudsman to notify the Constitutional Court on potential breach of human rights as president Traian Basescu called a referendum to downsize the Parliament on the same day as presidential elections.

The official document, sent to the Ombudsman by the NGOs forming the Alliance for the Rule of Law, namely Pro Democratia, the Center for Juridical Resources, Transparency International Romania and Active Watch - Press Monitoring Agency, was registered with the institution.

Late October, the four non-government organizations called on the country's Ombudsman to notify the Constitution Court on potential breach of human rights, saying Basescu has the upper hand in election over other presidential contenders by appearing on two sets of electoral posters.

The non-government organizations pointed out that Basescu, who is running for a second consecutive term, appears on two electoral posters, one calling on people to vote at the referendum to downsize the Parliament and his electoral posters for the presidential race.

The Rule of Law Alliance added this situation might breach human rights and liberties, as stipulated in the Constitution of Romania, adding it is not fair toward the other presidential candidates.

Victor Alistar, head of Transparency International Romania (TI-Ro), said voting in the same polling stations and the same ballot box, and voting on the same list for both referendum and president could trigger election fraud attempts worse than electoral tourism.

Basescu has been widely criticized for calling a referendum to downsize the Parliament on election day and his gesture was interpreted by political rivals as a ploy to get people to the polls and vote for him.

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