Klaus Iohannis has held the presidency since 2014. His mandate was extended in December after the Constitutional Court postponed the presidential race two days before the December 8 runoff.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis resigned on Monday amid mounting pressure from populist opposition groups, two months after the country's top court annulled the country's presidential election. Of the European Union.
"In order to spare Romania this crisis, I am resigning from the post of President of Romania," Iohannis said, adding that he will leave office on February 12.
Iohannis (65) has been in the presidential position since 2014. His mandate was extended in December after the Constitutional Court postponed the presidential race two days before the second round on December 8, writes AP.
It came after far-right populist Kalin Gheorgheescu unexpectedly won the first round, prompting accusations of Russian meddling and election violations.
Several opposition parties, including the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), the nationalist SOS party and the Youth Party - but also some members of the reformist Save Romania Union (USR) party - have sought Iohannis' removal through a motion submitted to parliament.
"It is an unfounded move because I have never โ I repeat, never โ violated the constitution. And that is a harmful endeavor because everyone loses and no one wins," said Iohannis.
He added that the consequences of his overthrow will be "long-lasting and very negative" for Romania, which has been a member of the EU since 2007 and a member of NATO since 2004.
"None of our partners will understand why Romania is replacing its president when the process of electing a new president has already started," he said.
New dates have been set for the repeat of the presidential elections, and the first round is scheduled for May 4. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a second round will be held two weeks later, on May 18. It is not yet clear whether ฤorฤescu will be able to participate in the new elections.
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A black picture and the breakdown of the rule of law subscribeThe archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
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