same-sex marriage in Romania. 2018 referendum The Romanian Government announced plans to hold a referendum in the fall of 2017, following a successful citizens' initiative by a group opposed to same-sex marriage, the Coaliția pentru Familie, which collected an estimated 3 million signatures in support of banning same-sex marriage. The Chamber of Deputies approved the initiative on 9 May 2017 in a 232–22 vote. However, no referendum was held that year. The government proposed to hold the referendum in May or June 2018, though these months also passed without a vote. Eventually, the referendum was confirmed to be held on 6 and 7 October 2018. The referendum proceeded as planned on 6 and 7 October, and cost an estimated €43 million. It failed to achieve validity as the turnout was 21.1%, well below the 30% required under the law. The lowest turnout (8.5%) was recorded in Covasna County. The highest turnout (30.7%) was in Suceava County, the only county to surpass the 30% threshold. 2018 Constitutional Court ruling On 27 September 2018, less than two weeks before the referendum to ban same-sex marriage, the Constitutional Court of Romania ruled that same-sex couples have the same rights to privacy and family life as heterosexual couples. The ruling, hailed as "landmark" by LGBT advocacy groups, stated that legal rights and obligations should be equal under law. However, the court also ruled that the term "spouses" can only refer to a "man and woman", since this was the intention of the original constitutional lawmakers. Political viewpoints With the exceptions of Save Romania Union and the Green Party, none of Romania's major political parties, either in government or in opposition, explicitly support same-sex marriage or registered partnerships, or have proposed any law regarding it, resulting in the debate about this issue in the political sphere being more reserved than in civil society and the media. On 6 June 2006, the Cotidianul newspaper conducted interviews with representatives of the five main political parties, asking them about their stance on same-sex marriage. Crin Antonescu, the leader of the parliamentary delegation of the National Liberal Party, part of the governing coalition, declined to give an official party view on the matter. Instead, he said that "both the party and myself have given proof that we are in favour of recognising sexual minorities. However, personally I am against marriage between people of the same sex." The leader of