BUCHAREST, Romania, May 3 (UPI) -- Romania's Constitutional Court ruled the head of state can be dismissed with a simple majority of voters who cast their ballots in a referendum, media said.
The Constitutional Court Thursday upheld a recently enacted law, originally proposed by the opposition Social-Democratic party, making the dismissal of Romanian President Traian Basescu much easier, the Serbian news agency Beta reported.
Romanians will vote in a referendum May 19 to decide whether to dismiss Basescu.
The new law allow for dismissal of a president by 50 percent plus one vote of ballots cast in a referendum. Under the original law, 50 percent plus one of the total number of eligible voters were needed to remove a president from office.
Basescu was suspended by Parliament April 19 for alleged constitutional violations that included an effort to grab more power from the government of Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu, and interefering in the country's judiciary.
Basescu and Tariceanu have been involved in public disputes over the past months.
If Basescu is defeated in the referendum, a new presidential election would be held within three months.
