Keeping the Peace

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis resigned from office Monday, a move aimed at preventing a political crisis amid an ongoing fight over the annulment of last year’s presidential elections, Radio Free Europe reported.

Iohannis announced he would leave office Wednesday, saying he wanted “to spare Romania and its citizens from this crisis.”

His decision came a day before lawmakers were set to discuss and vote on a third request to impeach Iohannis following the constitutional court’s annulment of the presidential vote in November.

The November elections saw little-known, far-right candidate Călin Georgescu unexpectedly emerge as the top contender in the first round of voting – a result that shocked the country because he was initially polling in single digits before the elections, according to the Guardian.

His victory was marred by allegations of Russian interference and electoral violations after it appeared that Georgescu benefitted from an online sleeper network that artificially boosted his social media reach before the November vote.

Russia has denied any involvement.

In December, the constitutional court annulled the results and requested Iohannis to stay in office even after his term was set to end in mid-December – he has been in office since 2014, Euronews noted.

The annulment sparked large protests in Romania, with demonstrators expressing support for Georgescu and calling for Iohannis to step down.

In his resignation, the outgoing leader called the attempt to impeach him “useless,” warning that such a move would spark political chaos and hinder negotiations on rescheduling presidential elections.

Although the new election date has not been set, Romania’s ruling coalition has proposed holding the presidential vote on May 4, with a possible run-off on May 18.

Georgescu, who previously tried to appeal the constitutional court’s ruling, is now polling at 40 percent.