Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Feb. 10 that he would resign ahead of plans by opposition parliamentary parties to impeach him.
Iohannis, 65, has served as president since 2014, completing the maximum of two five-year terms. Following accusations of Russian election interference, which the Kremlin denies, his presidency was extended in December 2024 after the Constitutional Court canceled the presidential election two days before the Dec. 8 runoff.
“To spare Romania from this crisis, I am resigning as president of Romania,” Iohannis said, adding that he would leave office on Feb. 12.
Romanian intelligence stated that they had obtained information showing that an aggressive TikTok campaign promoted Georgescu, including one user who allegedly spent $381,000 to boost his content.
Before his TikTok campaign, Georgescu polled in the single digits, but he ended up with nearly 23 percent of the vote in the first round.
Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union (USR) and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party trailed behind him, with 19.17 percent and 19.15 percent of the vote, respectively.
Had it been held, the runoff would have been between Georgescu and Lasconi.
The social media platform denied giving Georgescu special treatment, saying the account was labeled as a political account and treated like any other.
New dates have been set for the rerun of the presidential election, with the first round scheduled for May 4. If no candidate secures more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held two weeks later, on May 18.
In January, three opposition parties, which control about 35 percent of the seats in the Romanian Parliament, filed a motion to impeach Iohannis.
With the motion set for a vote, it was thought that some lawmakers from centrist pro-European parties could also support impeachment, giving the move a majority.
Senate speaker Ilie Bolojan, head of the Liberal Party, which is part of the ruling coalition, is set to take over as interim president with limited powers until the election is held.
“I’m glad that the pressure USR applied in Parliament woke Iohannis from his slumber, but we won’t stop here,” she said. “We need to restore the state institutions so that they work for the citizens, not for temporary figures perched in power. ...We need truth, justice, and an authentic leader who can keep us firmly oriented toward the West!”
Support for Georgescu, who has been critical of NATO—which Romania joined more than two decades ago—and of Europe’s response to the war in Ukraine, has nearly doubled since the annulled election.
Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, said that Iohannis’s stepping down is better for Romania than going to a referendum.
“The resignation will not magically stop the large discontent ... and the uncertainty regarding the coalition in power and the list of presidential candidates will grow now,” Andrei said. “The fragile political status quo has changed.”
In October 2024, the Constitutional Court banned Diana Sosoaca, leader of SOS Romania, from running in the election.
