Romania's leader survives ouster effort

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Romanian election officials declared late Sunday that a referendum to impeach President Traian Basescu on grounds that he overstepped his authority had failed because of low voter turnout.

The Central Election Bureau put the voter turnout in Sunday's referendum on the president at 45.92 percent, with a 3 percentage-point margin of error. By law, such referendums are invalid if less than half the electorate cast ballots.

The bureau did not immediately give the outcome, but two exit polls showed more than 80 percent favored impeaching Mr. Basescu.

"Romanians have invalidated the referendum by not voting," Mr. Basescu said on national TV. He pledged to work toward reconciliation in the nation of 19 million that threw off communism in 1989.