Romanians overwhelmingly voted “No” in Sunday’s non-binding referendum on whether the government should be allowed to offer pardons and amnesty in corruption cases, and on the broader powers governments have to change justice-related laws.
President Klaus Iohannis, a former member of the opposition National Liberal Party, called the referendum on the controversial reforms proposed by the country’s ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), and celebrated the result in a statement posted on social media.
“The referendum succeeded with flying colors,” he said. “Thank you Romanians. This is a clear vote for correct politics, for true justice. No politician can ignore your clear vote for an independent judiciary.”
The referendum asked Romanians whether the government should be banned from changing judicial legislation using emergency decrees and whether there ought to be a national ban on any amnesty and pardoning for graft-related crimes.
More than 80 percent of respondents said they agreed with the ban.
Although the referendum is just consultative, it deals a blow to the PSD, which also came in second during the European election, scoring one of its weakest results in a decade.
According to the Romanian national election bureau, voter turnout was 41 percent, exceeding the 30-percent threshold required for the referendum to be valid.
The European Commission has warned against Romania’s reforms, and along with the U.S., Germany, France and nine other countries urged Romania last month not to pass emergency laws that risk weakening the country’s justice system and its ability to fight corruption.