Romania: President survives recall election

President Traian Basescu survived the attempted recall against him, using the particular rules to win. The vote would only be valid if more than 50 percent of eligible voters participated. According to the NYT, with 97.5 percent of the votes counted, the central election bureau said on Monday morning that the turnout was 46.13 per cent. About 87.5 percent voted for removal.

Basecu had previously beat back a removal vote in 2007. At that time, 74 percent voted for removal, though only 44 percent turned out.