Romania’s centrist president, Klaus Iohannis, announced his resignation on Monday as hard-right opposition parties prepared to initiate impeachment proceedings against him.
The country, a member of both the European Union and NATO and sharing a border with Ukraine, experienced significant political turmoil last year when the relatively unknown far-right critic of NATO, Calin Georgescu, secured victory in the first round of the presidential election.
Following allegations of Russian interference, which Moscow has denied, Romania’s highest court annulled the entire election process.
The court has scheduled the two rounds of the election to be re-held on May 4 and May 18, stating that Iohannis, whose second and final term ended on December 21, would remain in office until a new president is elected.
However, in January, three far-right opposition parties, holding approximately 35% of parliamentary seats, submitted a motion to impeach Iohannis.
As the motion approached a vote and with Iohannis facing significant unpopularity, analysts suggested that some members of mainstream pro-European parties might support the hard-right’s impeachment bid, enabling them to achieve the necessary majority.
Iohannis remarked to reporters, “The request will have consequences both domestically and abroad. To spare Romania this pointless and negative crisis… I am resigning from the president’s office.”
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Senate speaker Ilie Bolojan, leader of the Liberal Party and part of the ruling coalition, will assume the role of interim president with limited authority until the election takes place.
The three far-right factions, whose influence has grown since Georgescu’s unexpected victory, have leveraged their campaign against Iohannis to organize protests and dominate the political discourse.
