Romanian President Klaus Iohannis resigned after serving two terms, a day before an impeachment vote by far-right parliamentary parties.
According to Al Jazeera, under mounting pressure from populist opposition parties, Iohannis announced his resignation on Monday, February 10, 2025, to avoid the impeachment vote.
In an emotional address, the 65-year-old stated that he would leave the presidential office on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. “To spare Romania from this crisis, I am resigning as president of Romania. In a few days, the Romanian Parliament will vote on my suspension, and Romania will go into crisis,” he said.
“This whole endeavor will have effects internally and, unfortunately, also externally… This is a useless endeavor because, in any case, I will leave office in a few months after the election of the new president. It is an unfounded move because I have never, I repeat, never, violated the constitution,” he added.
Furthermore, the resignation came two months after Romania’s top court annulled the presidential election due to alleged Russian interference following the shocking victory of far-right candidate Calin Georgescu in the first round.
After the court’s decision, tens of thousands of citizens protested in the streets, with some demanding the president’s resignation. In January 2025, three far-right opposition parties, holding 35% of the parliamentary majority, filed an impeachment motion against Iohannis.
