Traian Basescu impeached

Romanian President Traian Basescu was suspended from presidency, on Friday, July 6, with 256 affirmative votes of Parliament. Romanian citizens will decide on July 29, during a referendum, whether to terminate or prolong his term in office, reports Info-Prim Neo, quoting adevarul.ro. Of the 373 votes, 256 were for the suspension, 114 against, and two votes were annulled. 218 votes were necessary for the suspension of the President. The impeachment procedure commenced at the request of the Social-Liberal Union (USL). Before the voting procedure Traian Basescu held a speech in which he said that he had a clean conscience and he had done his duty in front of his country and people. “Have you ever seen a dictator give the Prime Minister position to the opposition? Have you ever seen a dictator give the opposition the most powerful service for national intelligence? Have you ever seen a dictator give the opposition the single most powerful foreign intelligence service? Well, if you have not, then keep searching for dictators”, stated Traian Basescu. Traian Basescu had been previously suspended by the Parliament in 2007, but reinstated after winning the public vote.