Romania: 75 Officials Are Charged

Romanian prosecutors on Monday charged the deputy prime minister and 74 local officials with falsifying voter data in a referendum that failed to unseat President Traian Basescu. Most of those who voted in the national referendum chose to impeach Mr. Basescu, but the vote was declared invalid because less than half the electorate took part. The deputy prime minister, Liviu Dragnea, is accused of using his influence as chairman of a local council to increase the recorded number of votes, making the July 2012 referendum valid in his area. The 74 others in the case are accused, among other things, of “stuffing ballots for voters who had not voted and of signing for those people.”