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| Europe | |
| Romanian minister resigns over row | |
| 2012-08-07 | |
“I have submitted my resignation for my own honor,” said Rus, a member of Prime Minister Victor Ponta’s center-left coalition, the Social Liberal Union (USL). Condemning “criticism and pressure” from political figures, including both suspended center-right president Basescu and interim president Crin Antonescu, Rus also announced the resignation of Victor Dobre, the junior interior minister tasked with organizing the vote. “We have been subjected to multiple forms of pressure, discussions, and criticism, coming from Romanian political figures from Traian Basescu to Crin Antonescu,” he said. “From my point of view and from (Dobre’s) point of view, these things are unacceptable. We think we organized this referendum sufficiently well.” Romanian politics have been thrown into turmoil by the July 29 impeachment referendum, which has been sharply criticized by the European Union and the United States. Antonescu, who took over as interim president after Basescu was suspended last month, is a leading figure in the USL, which contested the accuracy of electoral registers after the referendum failed to meet the 50-percent turnout threshold required to oust arch-rival Basescu. Romania’s Constitutional Court last week delayed giving a ruling on the validity of the referendum. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |