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Romania's top court deals prime minister new hit

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:09 GMT

Source: reuters // Reuters

* Top court rejects govt plan for simultaneous polls

* Street protests continue despite heavy snow

* President says country needs stability

* IMF begins aid deal review in Bucharest (Adds Romanian president, protest details)

By Luiza Ilie

BUCHAREST, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Romania's constitutional court overturned a government plan to hold local and parliamentary elections on the same day, dealing a blow to the centrist coalition unsettled by two weeks of street protests against its austerity measures.

Thousands of people have staged sometimes violent protests across Romania, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Emil Boc and that of his close ally, President Traian Basescu.

The rallies are the largest since state jobs and wage cuts and a higher sales tax were enforced in 2010 to shore up public finances under an aid deal led by the International Monetary Fund. But their scale is still small compared to protests seen in Greece and elsewhere in debt-ridden Europe.

Boc, whose popularity has slumped in opinion polls, forced a plan to hold simultaneous elections through parliament last month in an attempt to neutralise some of the leftist opposition Social Liberal Union's (USL) advantage.

The USL, riding high at 50 percent in opinion polls, would prefer to have the chance to ram home its advantage in local elections, possibly in May, than wait until a parliamentary vote expected in late November 2012.

An earlier local election is also likely to put it in control of more city halls and in a position to have more influence over voting in the national election. Many voters live far from the capital and analysts said local influence can have a significant impact on voting patterns.

The court has not yet issued the reasons for its judgment. The law will now go back to parliament, where the government could change it to bring it in line with the constitution.

On Wednesday, rallies continued in several Romanian cities, although the number of protesters was thinner due to freezing temperatures and a blizzard that has blocked several national roads, closed schools and led to power shortages.

In capital Bucharest, dozens of students, pensioners, public sector workers and professionals gathered in University Square, one of the scenes of the 1989 anti-communist revolution, carrying whistles and waving Romanians flags.

"We will keep coming here," Constantin Hutan, a 64-year-old pensioner. "We are much better off standing here and protesting rather than sitting in chairs at home."

Austerity steps have kept investor confidence and rebalanced the economy, but also delayed recovery. Romania remains the EU's second-poorest member, languishing with per capita income at less than half the bloc's average.

An IMF mission arrived in Bucharest on Wednesday to review progress made under Romania's new 5 billion euros aid package and will remain in the country until Feb. 6.

Addressing his people earlier, Basescu said Romania needed stability or risk losing the progress it made in straightening out its economy at the cost of Romanians' pain.

"Presidents do not resign during times of crisis. I am not considering resignation at the moment," Basescu said. "I am a ship captain by profession and I have never missed the destination. I am not about to miss it now with Romania." (Editing by Maria Golovnina)