Romanian President Traian Basescu appears to have survived a referendum on his impeachment. The country's election bureau estimated turnout at 45.9 per cent which is below the 50% required to make the result valid. 

Mr Basescu, who has been suspended by Parliament, had asked his supporters to boycott the vote. The centre-left government had accused the centre-right President of exceeding his authority and of meddling in government affairs.

As voting ended, Mr Basescu said that Romanians had rejected a coup by staying away from polling stations. He said Romanians have invalidated the referendum by not participating. 

The row has paralysed political decision-making in Romania at a time when it is finalising agreements on an IMF-backed aid package. Mr Basescu's popularity has slumped since he backed tough austerity measures demanded by Romania's international lenders.

Mr Basescu had initially urged Romanians to vote "no" to what he called "a coup", but later asked his supporters to boycott the vote altogether, a stance also adopted by the opposition Liberal Democrats. According to the latest polls, about 65 per cent of the electorate wants to remove Mr Basescu.