BUCHAREST, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Romanian Interior Minister Ioan Rus resigned Monday after his ministry provided a disputed number of voters for the July 29 national referendum to recall suspended President Traian Basescu.
The minister stressed he tendered his honorary resignation, saying that it is unacceptable that the ministry being accused as an accomplice to the violation of laws in Romania.
"Much pressure has been put on me and the Ministry of Administration and Interior and many remarks from Romanian politicians, starting with Traian Basescu and ending with (Acting President) Crin Antonescu," he said, stressing that "from my perspective and the perspective of the ministry this is completely unacceptable."
He expressed hope that Interior's professionals will do their duty with professionalism, political neutrality and good faith and hope that those who come after him not to get the ministry involved in battles for power.
According to him, the ministry gave the voter lists to the top court, informing at the same time that, for various reasons, there are some weaknesses in relation to the accuracy of the number of people in Romania within the electoral lists.
"The Interior Ministry did so not to block or obstruct a court decision, but to properly inform the Court and ensure that decisions are taken in absolute knowledgeable with all aspects of this problem," stressed the minister.
Rus added that Minister-delegate for Administration Victor Paul Dobre will also tender his resignation Monday.
A national referendum was held on Sunday for ousting Basescu, but failed to produce a 50-percent voter turnout.
As the turnout fell short of the required minimum, the president could theoretically stay in office, pending a final decision from the Constitutional Court.
However, Basescu's political foes, including Prime Minister Victor Ponta, Interim President Crin Antonescu and their Social Liberal Union, argued that the number of registered voters in Romania were outdated and should be smaller.
The top court began its debates on certifying the referendum last Wednesday, but have to postpone their decision, as a result of the contrasting data sent by the Ministry of Administration and the Interior, the Permanent Electoral Authority and the National Institute of Statistics.
The court then asked the government to issue the updated permanent voters lists by August 31 and decided to postpone the date set for the debate on the referendum to the same day.
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