Romanian President Traian Basescu has survived an impeachment vote due to low turnout, according to figures released by the polling panel. The central electoral bureau said the figures showed that turnout stood at 45.92 per cent, short of the 50 per cent threshold needed for the result to be validated by the constitutional court.Monday’s announcement came just hours after the suspended leader claimed that voters had “rejected a coup” by not turning out in high enough numbers to validate an impeachment vote.Polling closed at 20:00 GMT on Sunday, more than half of the electorate needed to cast a ballot for the vote result to stand.Basescu told supporters on Sunday evening that the low turnout was a sign that “the democracy flame is still ablaze”.An exit poll carried out by private television station Realitatea TV showed a majority of voters - 86.9 per cent - voting to impeach the president.“Romanians have rejected the coup staged by the 256 lawmakers led by [Prime Minister] Victor Ponta and [interim president] Crin Antonescu,” Basescu said from his campaign headquarters minutes after polling closed.“Romanians have decided their fate by invalidating the referendum,” he said.The first official results were published at 07:00 GMT on Monday.Romanians were voting on whether to oust Basescu, the culmination of weeks of political feuding that has cast doubt over the democratic credentials of the European Union’s newest member.‘Low turnout’Antonescu pledged the constitution would be respected.
