Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced his resignation on Monday, February 10th in order to prevent the country from plunging into a political crisis as Parliament was expected to vote for his impeachment.
In his statement on Monday, Iohannis said, “In order to spare Romania from this crisis, I will step down from the position of Romanian President. I will vacate my office on the day after tomorrow, February 12.”
Aged 65, Iohannis has served as President since 2014 and has completed two consecutive five-year terms. Last December 6, the Supreme Court extended his term after warning of significant foreign interference in the presidential elections by the security services.
Pro-Russian right-wing independent candidate Calin Georgescu surprisingly won the first round of the presidential elections on November 24.
The Romanian government declassified intelligence documents strongly suggesting the presence of election interference supported by Russia. Georgescu’s victory has thus been called into question.
According to reports from the Associated Press, the Romanian Parliament had planned to discuss and vote on a request to temporarily suspend Iohannis from his duties on Tuesday.
Previous requests presented by the opposition were rejected due to procedural issues. This time, a motion jointly initiated by members of the Party of Young People, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, and the Save Romania Union party, among others, gathered enough signatures of support.
After Iohannis’ resignation, the President of the Senate will assume the role of interim President of Romania.
Iohannis stated, “This is a meaningless action, as regardless, I would have left office a few months later once the new President is elected,” reiterating that he has “never violated the constitution.”
The dates for the re-run of the presidential elections have been set, with the first round scheduled for May 4. If no candidate secures over 50% of the votes, a second round will be held on May 18. It is currently unclear whether Georgescu will be able to participate in the new elections.