Why did the Romanian president decide to resign?

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced his resignation on February 12, Monitorul Expres reports.

“In a few days, the Romanian parliament will vote for my impeachment and a crisis will begin in Romania… All these efforts will have consequences both inside the country and, unfortunately, outside it. In order to protect Romania and its citizens from this unnecessary and negative crisis, I am resigning from the presidency of Romania,” Iohannis said.

Iohannis added that his impeachment by parliament would “make Romania a laughingstock for the whole world.”

Klaus Iohannis has been the head of state since 2014.

On November 24, the first round of the presidential election was held in Romania. Independent candidate Kelin Georgescu won first place (22.95 percent), while the second place went to the leader of the center-right Union for the Salvation of Romania (UNS) party, Eleana Lasconi (19.18 percent). The second round of the election was scheduled for December 8.

On November 28, Iohannis agreed to disclose confidential information from a meeting of the country's Supreme Defense Council (SRI). According to the SRI report, a Romanian named Bogdan Peşir paid $381,000 for Georgescu's TikTok campaign, and a total of 1 million euros were spent on his election campaign. The presidential candidate himself stated that he did not spend a single cent. The SRI also did not rule out the possibility that Russian special services were behind Georgescu's candidacy.

On December 6, the Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of elections. New voting was scheduled for May 4.

Iohannis's term ended on December 21, but he is serving until a new president is elected. Against this background, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, Save Romania S.O.S., and the Youth Party have begun to gather votes for his resignation. The issue is due to be considered at a parliamentary session on February 11. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”