Romanians Vote in Droves With Corruption Question on the Ballot
Romanians Vote in Referendum on Judicial Reforms That EU Opposes
(Bloomberg) -- Romanians turned out in droves to vote in a referendum that could put the brakes on a controversial overhaul of the judiciary, which is torpedoing relations with the European Union.
Citizens flooded ballot booths for both the referendum and the EU Parliament elections, with turnout surpassing 30% almost four hours before the polls closed. That exceeds the threshold required for the measure to be valid.
Officials from Brussels say the judiciary reforms curb courts’ independence -- mirroring similar charges aimed at Hungary and Poland -- an allegation the government in Bucharest denies. The EU this month warned Romania, which currently holds the bloc’s rotating presidency, over the possibility of sanctions if it doesn’t reverse course.
It’s not just the EU that opposes the revamp. President Klaus Iohannis is behind Sunday’s plebiscite, which takes place alongside elections for the European Parliament. Hundreds of thousands of protesters have turned out since 2017 in a bid to halt the reforms.
Voters are being asked whether they agree with possible amnesty and pardons for officials in trouble over corruption, and whether the government should be allowed to continue approving changes to the criminal legislation through emergency decrees.
“If it’s validated, it will give Iohannis a power boost to counter any attempts to dismantle the judiciary,” said Liliana Popescu, a professor at the Bucharest Political Science University. “If it’s not, he’ll also face a significant backlash because it would show peoples’ apathy ahead of presidential elections” later this year.
To contact the reporters on this story: Andra Timu in Bucharest at atimu@bloomberg.net;Irina Vilcu in Bucharest at isavu@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo
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