Mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca congratulated Romanian President Traian Basescu, despite the lack of the final results of the referendum on the latter’s dismissal, during a City Hall meeting on Monday, July 30, reports Info-Prim Neo. “I had congratulated the President as early as last Tuesday; I was convinced he’d win. Things are following their natural course. It would’ve been unacceptable for the attempt to succeed. Congratulations, Mister President, and good luck in the future. The congratulations are official”, stated the Mayor. The Mayor said that regardless of the result of the referendum the image of Romania was stained. “For me, this is a concern, since we are not that far apart; we are brothers, and if after 20 years of democracy this happened in Romania, it can happen here as well, because here things follow the course of events in Eastern European EU member-states, but with a delay”, stated the Mayor. The Mayor added that once Traian Basescu returns to Cotroceni everything will follow its normal course. “If the situation over the Prut would’ve collapsed, that would’ve cast a shadow over the region in terms of European integration prospects”, the Mayor noted. The Mayor remarked that no politician in Chisinau supported Traian Basescu, not publicly at least. “Now we’ll see how many of them will befriend him”, the Mayor concluded. According to preliminary data from the Romanian Central Electoral Bureau, the referendum's turnout was 46.13%; 87.55% of those who participated voted for the dismissal of Traian Basescu. The presence of at least 50% of all Romanian citizens was necessary for the validation of the July 29 impeachment referendum.