site.btaRomanian President Klaus Iohannis Resigns

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced on Monday that he is stepping down from office.

"Removal from office is a useless step because in a few months I will leave office" Iohannis's statement reads. "This is a baseless approach because I have never violated the Constitution. It is a bad move. In a few days, the Romanian Parliament will vote on my removal and Romania will enter a crisis. Internally, the referendum will be extremely negative. The whole of society will be confused. There will be no more talk of presidential elections. Externally, the effects will be lasting and very negative. We will be the laughing stock of the world. To save Romania from this crisis, I am resigning as President of Romania. The resignation will take effect in two days," he added.

Earlier on Monday, the permanent bureaus of both houses of parliament unanimously decided to start the procedure for the removal of President Klaus Iohannis. The opposition's request was due to be debated in a plenary session of parliament on Tuesday (February 11), but the head of state pre-empted the decision and announced he was stepping down.

Klaus Iohannis's mandate expired on December 21 2024, but weeks before he announced that he would stay in office until a new President is elected after the Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of the presidential election, won by independent candidate Calin Georgescu, over suspicions of foreign interference. Its decision sparked dissatisfaction from the opposition and was the reason for protests in Romania.