Two days before the upcoming referendum in Romania Democracy International strongly underlines that the plebiscite to impeach suspended President Basescu does not have anything in common with direct democracy. 

“Top-down-plebiscites in the personal interests of a politician or party are the opposite to what real direct democracy is about. Direct democracy means giving citizens the power to initiate and to take decisions on issues by clear and democratic rules. Romania desperately needs effective instruments of direct democracy right now when politicians are more driven by personal interests than the interest in their country”, says Gerald Häfner, Member of European Parliament and President of Democracy International.

“The recent controversy about the number of votes necessary to impeach suspended President Basescu shows how little democratic standards currently count in Romania. Quora must not be decided by ruling politicians in order to reach the decision they want. Instead, the rules of referenda must be carefully assessed and determined in advance to avoid political misuse and manipulations”, Gerald Häfner adds.

Democracy International is a coalition of individual citizens and non-governmental organisations advocating more citizen participation and direct democracy in Europe and the world. As its central tasks, Democracy International campaigns for more democracy in the European Union and advises citizens and civil society groups on how to implement initiatives and referenda at all political levels. 

Press contact: Cora Pfafferott, Tel: +49 2203 102 14 75, Email: pfafferott@democracy-international.org