Romanians rally for, against president before vote

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Thousands of Romanians rallied in central Bucharest both for and against suspended President Traian Basescu on Thursday, showing the deep divisions in the country before a referendum on his removal from office at the weekend.

The leftist Social Liberal Union (USL) government said 35,000 attended its rally to demand Basescu's impeachment, on the grounds that the rightist president overstepped his powers by imposing austerity measures in 2010.

The political row between right and left has grown since the USL took power in May and went on to vote to suspend the president, triggering the referendum.

Turmoil surrounding the standoff has raised doubts about the future of an International Monetary Fund-led aid deal, sent the currency to record lows and led to harsh European Union criticism of the Prime Minister Victor Ponta's government.

"With the Traian Basescu regime we have not been a democratic country because he was the one who took the decisions," Ponta told the USL rally. "Shouldn't the people decide who will lead us in the future?"

Polls suggest Sunday's vote will almost certainly be in favour of impeaching Basescu, which would mean a presidential election within three months that the USL would probably win. But turnout of at least half is required to make the result valid, which gives the president a fighting chance.

"Of course I'm going to vote against Basescu," said advertising agency owner Alexandru George in a street in Bucharest before the rally. "I'm willing to do anything to see to it that he's no longer president of Romania."

Ponta - a 39-year-old lawyer who marked a change of guard for his party, long dominated by former communists - has had a stern dressing-down from the EU, which accuses him of undermining the rule of law, intimidating judges and removing officials in its campaign against the president.

An opposition boycott of the referendum could well cut turnout - which was 56 percent in local elections in June - below half.

"I will not vote at the referendum because I do not agree with the government's coup," said Radu Popescu, a 32-year-old engineer at the rally in support of Basescu, where the crowd cheered mentions of the EU.

Organisers said about 9,000 attended that event on the other side of the city centre from the USL rally, on one of the squares where Romania's bloody 1989 anti-communist revolution unfolded.

Romania has made progress since the 1989 overthrow of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and joined the EU in 2007. But the economy has slipped back into recession in the first quarter and pockets of severe poverty remain.

It is still the bloc's second-poorest member, despite receiving funds to help it catch up. The justice system is monitored by Brussels and the country is excluded from the passport-free Schengen zone.

Ponta felt the full weight of EU wrath after his government took on the Constitutional Court, threatening to replace judges, reduce its powers and ignored one of its decisions.

The Constitutional Court had ruled the referendum should have a minimum turnout to be valid, but the government initially tried to bypass the judgment using an emergency decree. It later backed down under EU pressure.

(Writing by Sam Cage; Editing by Andrew Heavens)