A third request to suspend Iohannis from office was set to be discussed and voted upon in the country’s parliament on Tuesday.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis resigned from office on Monday in a move he said was to prevent the country from entering a crisis that would ensue as the parliament was expected to vote for his impeachment.
“To spare Romania and its citizens from this crisis, I am resigning from the office of President of Romania. I will leave office the day after tomorrow, 12 February,” Iohannis said in a statement on Monday.
In office since 2014, Iohannis has already served a maximum of two five-year terms. However, his presidency was extended after the Constitutional Court in December cancelled the results of the presidential race in which controversial ultranationalist Calin Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round.
Georgescu’s win was marred by allegations of Russian interference and electoral violations after it emerged that an online sleeper network had artificially propped up his social media reach in the run-up to the vote.
The country’s parliament was expected to discuss and vote on a third request to suspend Iohannis from office on Tuesday. Two earlier requests, put forward by opposition parties, were rejected for procedural reasons.
This time, a group of ultranationalist parties — the Party of Young People (POT), the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), and SOS, joined by MPs of the Save Romania Union (USR) — managed to gather enough signatures to put forward the motion.
Iohannis called the move to suspend him “useless” and pointed out he was set to leave office in a few months.
“It is an unfounded move because I have never violated the constitution,” he said of the motion to impeach him. He argued his impeachment would plunge the country into political chaos and obstruct discussions on rescheduling the presidential elections.
“There will be no talk about how the country will move forward. The (presidential) candidates will not be able to present their ideas in this negative mix. Externally, the effects will be long-lasting and very negative. We will be the laughingstock of the world,” Iohannis said.
Presidential elections in May?
Iohannis has been the target of vocal criticism by far-right opposition members and their supporters since December.
Last month, thousands of Romanians took to the streets in demonstrations organised by AUR to protest the election’s cancellation. Protesters have expressed support for Georgescu and called on Iohannis to be arrested and resigned.
Georgescu’s lawyers have filed a request with the Constitutional Court asking it to order the “immediate resumption” of the second round of the presidential election, which they claim was “illegally cancelled”.
Georgescu is now polling at 40% despite allegations against him. It is unclear whether he will be eligible to take part in the re-run.
The coalition government has proposed repeating the presidential elections on 4 May, with a second round pencilled in for 18 May. However, they have yet to make a formal decision.
The Senate chief will become interim president of Romania following Iohannis’ resignation.
