The Constitutional Court has invalidated the dismissal of president Băsescu

• Crin Antonescu: Băsescu is an illegitimate president

• Ponta: I will not accept for Băsescu to continue to be a president as well as a prime minister

• Vasile Blaga: The political war needs to stop

The Plenum of the Romanian Constitutional Court (CCR) yesterday voted, with 6 votes in favor and 3 against, that the organization and the development of the referendum for the dismissal of the president of July 29th, was honored, meaning that the suspended president, Traian Băsescu, would resume his functions of president of the state, and return to the Cotroceni Palace. The decision will come into effect on the date of its publication of the Official Gazette, the moment when the interim presidency of Crin Antonescu will end.

The court also noted that a total of 18,292,464 people recorded on the permanent electoral lists, and that the quorum set by the Constitutional Court of Romania, for the procedure for the dismissal of Băsescu was not met, as the vote attendance was 46.24%.

The decision of the Court will be read, today, in the plenum of the Constitutional Court, according to the statements of the president of the institution, Augustin Zegrean.

After the reading of the Decision of the Court, it will be sent to the Parliament, which, according to the quorum conditions, will need to acknowledge that decision. Once the decision will be read in the plenum of the two reunited Chambers, it will be published in the Official Gazette, and the suspended president will resume his mandate in Cotroceni.

• Crin Antonescu: I will honor the decision of the CCR, but Băsescu is an illegitimate president

Interim president, Crin Antonescu, yesterday had a very critical reaction against Traian Băsescu, saying that both him, and the NLP will honor the decision of the Constitutional Court to invalidate the referendum, even though he considers it unfair to ignore the vote of eight and a half million Romanians.

"Even if we honor the decision of the Constitutional Court and even if, based on that decision Traian Băsescu will once again become the president of Romania from a legal point of view, for us he is no longer the president of Romania, or he is an illegitimate president whom we do not acknowledge", the interim president said.

• Antonescu: Băsescu can cohabitate with the Prosecutors' Office and with the Constitutional Court

Antonescu explained that the initiation of the suspension procedure and the referendum have represented the attempt to eliminate the major problem in Romania's politics, the Băsescu regime: "We do not want to consider the issue of cohabitation, because it is not a matter of cohabitation with Traian Băsescu, but it is a matter of these 7.5 million Romanians and these people do not want to cohabitate with Traian Băsescu. Traian Băsescu can cohabitate with the Prosecutors' Office, with the Romanian Constitutional Court, with the information services, with international institutions".

Crin Antonescu also announced that he would not retire from politics, because "Traian Băsescu was essentially dismissed" and he is the one who should resign.

"Yes, I did say that if Traian Băsescu isn't dismissed, I will retire from politics", Antonescu said, and he went on to say that he only made the commitment to resign "only in the front of the desire of the Romanians".

The liberal went on to say that he would resume his political activity as president of the national Liberal Party and co-president of the USL.

The interim president also expressed his surprised at the decision of the Court, after he was saying that the odds of Traian Băsescu in Cotroceni are "flimsy", saying that he was "disappointed and frustrated".

• Ponta: Starting July 29th, Băsescu is the president made by the Constitutional Court

Prime Minister Victor Ponta, yesterday said that, starting on July 29th, Traian Băsescu "an illegitimate president, a president of the CCR", and the Government should be "a government of the Romanian citizens, and not a government of backdoor plotters".

"The referendum was legitimate, the will of the Romanian people is legitimate, the will of the Constitutional Court needs to be abided by, but it is very clear that starting with July 29th, Mr. Traian Băsescu will be an illegitimate president, a president made by the Constitutional Court", Ponta said.

The Prime Minister did mention that the decision of the Constitutional Court will be honored and implemented, but it is "unfair and against the democratic laws and the absolute majority of Romanians". He said that he hopes and wishes that the decision of the Court will end a political crisis which harmed our country and which "will leave deep traces in the Romanian society". Also, the Prime Minister said that he would not accept as part of the cohabitation, for Traian Băsescu to act as both president and prime-minister.

The president of the PSD has expressed his regret that, together with Crin Antonescu, he has agreed to a 50% quorum for the referendum, because that requirement was used in ill-faith by some dishonest people, alluding to Traian Băsescu and the six magistrates of the Constitutional Court.

Ponta also said that the USL would agree to the idea of a new suspension of president Traian Băsescu.

• The prime-minister proposes a constitutional reform

Following the decision of the Constitutional Court, the prime minister has announced that he would propose a far-reaching constitutional reform so that the new fundamental law would stipulate more clearly the roles of the various institutions, as well as provide a check system for the various powers and their means of action.

"Drawing the lessons from this experience, which showed that in Romania the democratic rules don't work, the will of the people, expressed legally and constitutionally, can be defeated by a single man, who has built his own system which would protect him from the institutions of the state, I will propose to the Government, and then to the Parliament a wide ranging Constitutional reform", the prime minister said, who also said that in the new constitutional system needs to more clearly stipulate the roles of the Legislative and the Executive.

"We need to find all the constitutional, democratic methods to prevent the tragedy caused by Traian Băsescu to the Romanian people from happening again in the future", he said, in explaining the necessity of the constitutional reform project.

• Ghişe: The quorum has no constitutional grounds

After the Constitutional Court (CCR) rendered its ruling about the validity of the referendum, PNL senator Ioan Ghişe commented that the Parliament could look at the decision of the CCR differently.

"The Parliament may decide that article 10 of the referendum law is applicable, which stipulates that the dismissal of the president gets done with the majority of the valid votes of those who attended the ballot, without the 50%+1 quorum of the voters present on the permanent lists being a requirement", the liberal senator said, who added that the mandatory introduction of the quorum has no constitutional grounds.

• Vasile Blaga: It is time for the Constitutional War to end

The president of the Democrat Liberal Party (PDL), Vasile Blaga, yesterday announced that the PDL would be willing to cooperate with all the political forces to support the country's interest, and he stressed that it is time for the political war to end, and for the political forces to cooperate.

"We ask the USL to abandon the governing methods which have caused so much harm to the country and have put the Romanian people through heavy trials", said Blaga, in a press conference at the headquarters of the party.

The democrat-liberal party has also added that most likely, the Parliament will meet on a joint session of its two Chambers on Thursday, to read the decision of the CCR.

Vasile Blaga also "consoled" Crin Antonescu, saying that he can understand that the PNL senator is very upset, but he mentioned that this aggravation does not give him the right to call for the Romanians to take to the streets.

• PDL leaders: The verdict of the CCR has made justice

First vice-president of the PDL, Cristian Preda, yesterday said that he hails the decision of the CCR concerning the referendum and that at the present time, all the political factions in Romania need to find the strength for political cohabitation.

"The decision of the CCR was the logical conclusion of the data presented to the Central Electoral Bureau three days after the conclusion of the referendum; I regret that there have been weeks of uncertainty which have worsened the crisis", Preda also said.

When asked whether Traian Băsescu and prime-minister Victor Ponta, can cohabitate, the first-vice-president of the PDL commented: "I think we need to take the formal statements on cohabitation made by the president and the prime-minister seriously and I think that it is in the interest of the Romanian society to overcome the dissensions which have been emphasized in the recent weeks to return to a decent political life", adding that at this time, cohabitation is the only option we have.

PDL vice-president Radu F. Alexandru expressed similar sentiments, yesterday, and he said that the ruling of the Constitutional Court is a reason to rejoice, because justice was made for a man against whom a dismissal procedure was initiated without any legal grounds, which means that justice prevailed.

"Just like every time when it is about a decision of justice, in general and all the more so when it comes to a decision of the CCR which is general and mandatory, any comments seem superfluous", the democrat-liberal vice-president said. He also said that the members of the Constitutional Court were subjected to pressure, and the fact that "law, reason and fairness prevailed is a victory of justice and proof that the state of law prevail in Romania".

• Emil Boc: The decision of the CCR is legal and constitutional

The mayor of the city of Cluj-Napoca, former prime-minister Emil Boc, said that the decision of the CCR concerning the referendum is legal and constitutional, hoping that it would lead to the normalization of the political life in Romania.

"The decision of the CCR is legal and constitutional and confirms that in arithmetic, 46.2% can't be turned into 50.1%", the former prime minister said, and he went on to say: "I hope that the decision will end the political crisis, and the politicians in power who have irresponsibly launched this referendum will have learned their lesson, and their main concern should be the day-to-day life of their citizens and their true problems, not their ambitions and their political vanity".

• Puiu Haşotti: "The decision of the CCr is antinational"

PNL vice-president Puiu Haşotti yesterday said, upon arriving upon his arrival at the headquarters of the party, that the decision of the CCR is antinational, and said that Băsescu should "cohabitate" with the Constitutional Court.

"It is a decision which goes against reality, against numbers, it is antinational - from now on, it is the CCR that should cohabitate with Traian Băsescu", Haşotti also said. He went on to say that there can be "no kind of dialog, of cohabitation" between the USL and Traian Băsescu, and that through this decision, the Court has contributed to the deepening of the political crisis in Romania.

• Kelemen Hunor: Băsescu and Ponta will have to cohabitate

The president of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), Kelemen Hunor, yesterday commented that the decision of the Constitutional Court must be accepted by all citizens, and that the political life needs to return to normal, as it is the responsibility of Traian Băsescu and Victor Ponta "to find a modus vivendi so that the act of governing would focus on the citizen".

Thus, the leader of the UDMR said that there will have to be a cohabitation between the president and the prime-minister until autumn, who went on to say that all the citizens need to accept the decision of the Court: "We have said every time that the decisions of the Constitutional Court have to honored, so I can only say the same thing this time, all the citizens have to accept the decision of the Constitutional Court, which was given according to the laws in effect".

• Radu Stroe: The judges of the CCR, incapable of ridding themselves

of their political baggage

The delegate minister for the Administration, liberal Radu Stroe, yesterday said that the judges of the Constitutional Court, are incapable of getting rid of their political baggage and can't read.

"I have to regretfully observe that the members of the CCR are incapable of ridding themselves of their political baggage, they are incapable of reading and applying the Law no. 370 which should have been their guiding book, but what is worse that they are unable to honor the vote of the 8.5 million people", the minister said upon arriving at the headquarters of the PNL.

• Ralu Fenechiu: The decision of the Constitutional Court extends the political crisis, we do not rule out the notion of a new suspension

The vice-president of the PNL, Relu Fenechiu, yesterday said, at Radio France Internationale, that he does not rule out the idea of a new suspension of president Traian Băsescu, adding that he hopes the president would be dismissed by the time the winter holidays arrive.

"This decision of the Constitutional Court prolongs the political crisis. Traian Băsescu can not be a partner for us, that would mean we would siding with him against 8 million people. I prefer to side with the 8 million people, to continue to fight Traian Băsescu and I hope that I can guarantee that by the time the winter holidays come Traian Băsescu will no longer be president".

• European leaders: The decisions o the Romanian Constitutional Court must be accepted

Hannes Swoboda, the president of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, said, in a Twitter message, that the decision of the Constitutional Court of Romania must be accepted: "It was a political decision made by the people against Băsescu, but it was not valid from a legal point of view. We need to accept that".

The president of the European People's Party of the European Parliament, Joseph Daul, said yesterday, that the decision of the CCR needs to be honored and implemented as soon as possible, to end the deadlock which is affecting Romanians' every day life, according to a communiqué posted on the website of the party.

In his opinion, following the invalidation of the referendum of the Court, following the dismissal of Traian Băsescu, "the time has come for the coalition Government to continue to implement, without hesitation or deviation, the commitments made to Romania's international partners, including the FMI".

"The Romanian people needs a responsible political management, which needs to focus on reform and the development of their country, not on the political personal agendas of the socialist and liberal leaders", Daul went on to say.