Romanian Opp Lawmakers Boycott Lower Chamber Works Again

Liberal Calin Popescu Tariceanu and social democrat Mircea Dusa said opposition lawmakers continue this form of protest displeased that plenary meetings are still presided over by Anastase.

Works in the lower chamber continued in the absence of social democrat and liberal deputies.

Even though President Traian Basescu recently called for a short-term moratorium on political feuds to unblock activity in Parliament, no agreement has yet been reached to solve the problem.

Opposition lawmakers also left plenary meeting on Monday evening, when the Chamber of Deputies adopted the articles of a draft act amending its Regulations. The act eliminates the requirement for a quorum in Standing Bureau meetings, which social democrats deemed illegal.

The opposition has been boycotting Chamber of Deputies meetings since debates on the country's IMF-required pension bill late September. Opposition lawmakers said the vote on the bill was rigged and social democrats filed a criminal complaint against Anastase, accusing her of abuse of office and forgery. Social democrat leader Victor Ponta said at the time that video footage of the meeting showed there were no more than 80 lawmakers in the room and the required quorum to pass the bill was not met.

The pension bill has not yet been enforced, as the head of state decided to send it back to Parliament for reexamination. The Senate's committee for legal matters decided that more articles of the pension bill will be reexamined, besides the article indicated by the president.

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