Polls showed a majority of Romanians favoring the impeachment of the President, but the turnout was estimated to be around 46%, thus rendering the referendum invalid.

[7] The president's popularity had fallen due to his support for strong austerity measures and perceptions that his appointments were guided by cronyism.

[8] Băsescu responded by calling the referendum a putsch attempt by his opponent, who had previously been criticized for dismissing the speakers in both chambers of the Romanian Parliament and the country's ombudsman.

[21] This does not take into account the special electoral lists for citizens voting outside their residence area (especially those on vacation throughout the country), unmovable and abroad.

Ponta declared that his government "will respect all decisions of the Constitutional Court and will act as a factor of stability in the next period, regardless of whether the referendum is validated or not".

[17] Ponta went on to declare that he is "not going to seek confrontation with Basescu (...) everyone is going to lose if we are continuing to fight", and pledged not to "interfere with the president's prerogatives.

People also gathered in front of the National Theatre and the Cotroceni Palace and chanted slogans against president Băsescu.

[29] After publication of partial results by the Central Electoral Bureau, following which the quorum was not comprised for Băsescu's dismissal, former President of Romania Ion Iliescu wanted to clarify for RFI that the Constitutional Court is compelled, taking account of European electoral common laws and the Venice Commission's recommendation that no threshold should be imposed, to consider the 29 July referendum valid.

[30] The Romanian constitutional court subsequently declared the referendum invalid[5] by a vote of 6–3 due to the fact that turnout did not reach 50%.