Constitutional court reinstates President Traian Băsescu

“The nine judges of the constitutional court have ruled that Traian Băsescu should return to the Cotroceni” (Romania’s presidential palace),announced the daily Adevărul just a few minutes after the verdict was read out on August 21. According to the court, the July 29 referendum in which voters were asked to decide on the impeachment of the head of state was legitimate with regard to the question posed, but invalid because the turnout was less than 50 per cent. Băsescu, who was temporarily replaced by Senate President Crin Antonescu in the wake of the vote, will now resume his official dutiesnotes Jurnalul Naţional.

For news website VoxPublica, the ruling amounts to a “correct and useful decision”, but takes issue with the manner in which it was delivered —

… chronically unable to decide, the court waited too long to deliver its verdict. As a result, we experienced a month of very costly chaos, just because the judges were unable to come to a decision.

The Romanian parliament will shortly meet to assess the consequences of the ruling. It remains to be seen if Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who did everything in his power to rid himself of Băsescu, will be able to work with the reinstated president.