Romanians have rejected an attempt by parliament to impeach reformist President Traian Basescu in a referendum.
Parliament suspended Basescu as president in April for 30 days 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 accused Basescu of using intelligence services to spy on leading politicians.
Yesterday, around 74% of Romanians rejected impeachment. Turnout was around 44%.
