Romanian opposition celebrates president’s resignation as victory

Leader of the opposition "Alliance for the Union of Romanians" George Simion has written that the opposition in Romania views President Klaus Iohannis’ decision to resign as a victory, as the head of state was facing the threat of impeachment by parliament.

The leader of the opposition party shared details on Facebook, highlighting that it was a victory and time for the second round, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

Simion also referred to Iohannis as "the worst president in Romania's history" and emphasized that the parliament would have forced the president's resignation if he had not stepped down voluntarily.

On February 10, Iohannis announced that he would resign on February 12. Johannis' mandate expired on December 21, 2024, following the cancellation of the presidential election. In late November, Călin Georgescu won the first round of Romania's presidential election. 

Contrary to all predictions, he emerged as the leader, securing 22.94 per cent of the votes. In second place was Elena Lasconi, leader of the opposition party "Union for the Salvation of Romania," who advocates for strong partnerships with NATO and the US. She received 19.18 per cent of the votes. Since no candidate secured more than 50 per cent of the votes, a second round of elections was expected between Georgescu and Lascuini. 

The polling stations were supposed to open on December 8, 2024. However, on December 6, the Constitutional Court of Romania, following an emergency meeting, decided to annul the results of the first round of the presidential election. The Romanian government accepted the Constitutional Court's decision and set new dates for the presidential election re-run: May 4 and May 18.

By Naila Huseynova