Romania’s Outgoing President Resigns to Prevent Impeachment

Romania’s outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis, resigned on Monday, preempting an impeachment effort by opposition hard-right parties. These parties had been planning to initiate proceedings against him.

Romania, a European Union and NATO member country bordering Ukraine, was thrown into political chaos last year when little-known far-right NATO critic Calin Georgescu won the first round of the presidential election.

After allegations of Russian interference, which Moscow denied, Romania’s highest court annulled the entire election.

With the election’s two rounds now set to be re-run on May 4 and May 18, the court had previously ruled that Iohannis, whose second and final term ended on December 21, would remain in office until a successor was elected.

However, in January, three far-right opposition parties, holding around 35% of parliament seats, introduced an impeachment motion against Iohannis.

As the impeachment motion approached a vote and with Iohannis’ popularity at a low point, analysts suggested that some lawmakers from mainstream pro-European parties might side with the hard-right’s impeachment attempt, potentially securing the votes needed for success.

“I am resigning from the president’s office to spare Romania this pointless and negative crisis,” Iohannis told reporters. “The request will have consequences both domestically and abroad.”

Ilie Bolojan, the Senate speaker and head of the Liberal Party within the ruling coalition, will assume the role of interim president with limited powers until the election.

The three hard-right parties, which gained popularity after Georgescu’s surprise victory, have used their campaign against Iohannis as a platform for protests and to shift the political narrative.