Romanian President Traian Basescu has survived a bid to impeach him with exit polls from a referendum suggesting that three quarters of voters wanted him to stay on.
Two exit polls from different firms showed Basescu winning with 75 and 78% of the vote.
Basescu, 55, had been accused of violating the constitution but remains popular among the public due to his frank comments and what some see as his commitment to rooting out corruption.
Polls leading up to the referendum had suggested he would win, reinforcing his legitimacy as president and head of a centre-right coalition.
Parliament suspended Basescu as president last month and called the impeachment referendum on the grounds he had exceeded his authority and fomented political deadlock in the new European Union nation.
Opponents, mostly ex-communist Social Democrats who have been tainted by charges of corruption from their time in power during the 1990s, also accuse Basescu of using intelligence services to spy on leading politicians.
Corruption is endemic in the ex-communist Black Sea nation, which joined the EU in January on the premise it would continue to fight corruption.
Soon after EU entry that drive all but stalled and Basescu's allies in government, like anti-graft Justice Minister Monica Macovei and Interior Minister Vasile Blaga, were sacked by Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu.
Diplomats say the European Commission is set to admonish the government in its June progress report, with some saying Romania risks sanctions that could cut aid from the bloc.
Analysts believe that a Basescu landslide will either push the government and its backers in parliament to adopt his anti-corruption agenda, or, if they are intransigent, hurt them in the 2008 general election.
