At stake in this Referendum:

• A referendum to impeach President Traian Băsescu

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Traian BASESCU
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Victor-Viorel PONTA
• Assembly: Romania has a bicameral Parliament (Parlament) consisting of the Senate (Senat) with 137 seats* and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputatilor) with 315 seats**.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the president with the approval of the parliament.
• In the Senate (Senat) 137 members are elected through a modified mixed-member proportional system to serve 4-year terms*. In the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputatilor), 19 members are reserved to serve 4-year terms and 315 members are elected through a modified mixed-member proportional system to serve 4-year terms.**

* Seats are distributed nationwide to parties in proportion to their vote shares, provided they have met a 5 percent threshold. This occurs after seats have been allocated to winners in single-member constituencies. A candidate must obtain an absolute majority of votes to win in any single-member constituency.

** As in the Senate, seats are allocated nationwide in proportion to parties' vote shares. This occurs after seats have been allocated to candidates winning majorities in single-seat constituencies. Various national thresholds apply: 5 percent for single parties (or at least 6 Chamber seats, or at least 3 Senate seats); 8 percent for alliances of two parties; 9 percent for alliances of three, and 10 percent for alliances of four or more parties.

There is no fixed number of reserve seats. These go to members of recognized minority groups (one per group) who do not win representation otherwise in either chamber. Such a candidate must have received 10 percent of the average number of valid votes cast for Deputies in the single-seat constituencies.

Main provisions in the Referendum:

• A referendum to impeach President Traian BASESCU.

Electoral Requirements

• An absolute majority of registered voters must vote "yes" to impeach. A decree by the Prime Minister attempted to lower this threshold to just a plurality of votes, but this was rejected by Romania's Constitutional Court.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 20,058,035 (2012)
• Registered Voters: 18,423,066 (2012)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 10,327,257 (2012)

·         Is Romania a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (4 September 1980)

·         Has Romania ratified CEDAW: Yes (7 January 1982)

·         Gender Quota: No (there are some political parties that have adopted voluntary quotas)

·         Female candidates in this election: N/A

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 38 (House of Deputies); 8 (Senate) following the 2008 elections

·         Human Development Index Position: 52 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Romania a signatory to CRPD: Yes (26 September 2007)

·         Has Romania ratified CRPD: Yes (31 January 2011)

·         Population with a disability: 3,008,705 (est.)