Romanians go to polls

Romania: Romanians went to the polls Sunday to decide whether to impeach their president Traian Basescu, bringing to a head weeks of political feuding that has mired the young democracy in crisis.

Opinion polls show two-thirds of Romanians are expected to vote in favour of impeaching Basescu, once one of the country’s most popular politicians whose ratings plummeted amid austerity cuts in 2010.

“I came to vote to say ‘down with Basescu’,” said Dumitru Cristea, a retired 61-year-old, outside a polling centre in central Bucharest.

“He’s done nothing but harm to the country, cutting wages, raising taxes on retirement income. He’s attacked little people like us instead of taking on the rich,” he said.

Another voter, who gave her name only as Maria, said she would not vote for impeachment, “even if Basescu isn’t perfect.

AFP