Breaking news: President Iohannis resigns

On the other hand, USR President Elena Lasconi opined that Klaus Iohannis’ resignation from the position of president comes too late. “During his reign, democracy fell apart and this cannot be forgiven,” she accused.

“Klaus Iohannis’ resignation comes very late. Much too late to be considered honorable. And it doesn’t even bring us answers to the questions that have been plaguing this country for two months: why did they cancel the elections, how do we protect ourselves from the Russians’ games, who will protect us from manipulation, can we guarantee the security of the next election?” Lasconi posted on Facebook.

“After 10 years with Iohannis at Cotroceni, unfortunately, and I say this as a man who believed in him, Romania is more vulnerable than ever. During his reign, democracy fell apart and this cannot be forgiven,” she continued.

“I am glad that the pressure put by USR in Parliament has woken Iohannis from his slumber and we will not stop here. We need to reposition the state institutions so that they work for the citizens, not for temporary people perched in positions,” she said.

Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan, a candidate in this year’s presidential election, reacted to President Klaus Iohannis’ resignation with a short message on Facebook. “Klaus Iohannis is gone. People’s dissatisfaction with the political class remains,” said Nicușor Dan. “Let’s build hope together for the future of society!” he added.

AUR President George Simion also reacted to the announcement of President Klaus Iohannis’ resignation by posting messages on social media welcoming the “departure of the usurper” and stating that this is a victory for those who supported his departure from office. Simion is calling for the resumption of the second round of last year’s presidential elections “urgently”.

“The usurper is finally gone. Klaus Iohannis has just resigned from office! The worst and most hated president in the history of Romania. If he had not resigned, he would have been suspended from office by Parliament and thrown out. The second round of the elections must be resumed urgently,” Simion wrote on the X network (formerly Twitter). “It is your victory! Now it is time for ROUND 2 BACK,” Simion wrote on Facebook, an allusion to the resumption of the second round of the presidential elections in November last year, elections that were ultimately annulled by the Constitutional Court.

Calin Georgescu, the winner of the first round of last year’s presidential elections, meanwhile annulled by the Constitutional Court, reiterated in a post on the X platform his desire to resume the second round. “Victory for the people of Romania – Klaus Iohannis resigned! Now, it’s time to return to “rule of law” – resume 2nd round of elections! wrote Georgescu on his X account.

The Russian press has reported the resignation of the Romanian president, providing details about the electoral context in which the decision occurred. Klaus Iohannis’ decision, writes the Interfax agency, was determined by a proposal by far-right parties to organize a vote on the impeachment of the president.

The mayor of Cluj-Napoca, the liberal Emil Boc, said on Monday that Klaus Iohannis’ resignation from the position of president of Romania is preferable to the suspension procedure and is a solution that ensures the democratic stability of the country.

“Categorically, yes, this resignation was preferable to a suspension procedure, which would have put the country in a much more complicated situation both on the international stage and in terms of Romania’s credibility. Otherwise, the resignation is a unilateral act,” Boc said. “Otherwise, the resignation is a democratic act, it is part of the rules of the democratic game. It must be seen as such, we have a Constitution, we have constitutional mechanisms to ensure the continuity of democratic life in Romania. From this perspective, it is a solution that ensures the democratic stability of the country,” he added.

Boc had declared in Parliament before resignation’s announcement that the National Liberal Party will not vote to suspend President Klaus Iohannis, stating that this move will worsen the situation in Romania.

UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor also commented on President Klaus Iohannis’ decision to resign from office and claims that he and his partners in the governing coalition only found out on Monday morning that the head of state was going to take a step back. “Today, President Klaus Iohannis resigned. More than ten years ago, he was elected with great hopes and with the chance to be a good president for every person, for every community,” the UDMR leader declared in a video message published on his Facebook page.

“He is now leaving through resignation, leaving behind frustration, disappointment, but at the same time opening up the possibility for all of us, the possibility of the coalition, the possibility of the coalition candidate and Romania’s chance to elect a good president, a president for every person, a president who will put state institutions at the service of the citizen, a president who will respect all communities, every citizen and ethnic minorities,” added Kelemen Hunor. “This is our chance, the coalition continues to function, there is a parliamentary majority and we are preparing together for the presidential elections in May,” the UDMR leader stated.

On a more discordant note, former President Traian Băsescu said on Monday that the resignation of President Klaus Iohannis was an act of cowardice, because it is the president’s obligation to see out his term. He also said that the president failed to resist pressure from a group that wants restoration in Romania.

“An act of cowardice. It is the president’s obligation to see his term through to the end, and the falsifiers of the Constitution who say he should have left after five years do not want to read the fundamental law correctly. It is true that Article 83, paragraph 1, states that the term of office of the President of Romania is five years and is exercised from the date of taking the oath, but in paragraph 2, the Constitution says very clearly: The President of Romania exercises his term of office until the newly elected president takes the oath,” the former president declared, after Klaus Iohannis’ resignation. “Our president failed to resist the pressure of a group that wants restoration in Romania and resigned. The easiest thing to do is to resign,” Traian Băsescu declared on TVR Info.

Crin Antonescu mentions Iohannis’ potential stepping down

The presidential candidate from the PNL and PSD, Crin Antonescu, admitted on Sunday evening, on TVR Info, that the leaders of the governing coalition will have a meeting, on Monday, with President Klaus Iohannis and that it is not excluded that he will announce his withdrawal from the position of President of Romania.

Antonescu was asked on TVR about the meeting of President Klaus Iohannis with the leaders of the governing coalition, which is expected to take place on Monday, the day when the request for suspension from office, submitted by the Opposition, will be discussed in the Joint Permanent Bureaus (BPR) of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

“It was not announced publicly. I have no other information about this meeting. I can assume that it could be the option in which the president decides to withdraw. That could be an option. It could be a discussion about the suspension procedure, which begins in Parliament, if the president wants to go through it, to face it, so to speak, to ask the majority leaders if he still has support, if he rejects it,” said Crin Antonescu.

He added that “there may be new elements in relation to what happened in the first round of the elections.”

“The reasons and the data on which the Constitutional Court canceled the second round of the elections are known, but, as you know, in public opinion there is still a request or an expectation or a hope for new data, which would make it clearer to us why that round of elections was canceled,” Antonescu also said.

Regarding the resignation of the head of state, Crin Antonescu showed that it is difficult for him to say what is appropriate or inappropriate for someone to do in his place, especially a president of the country. “What is important is that we, however, by May, have the opportunity to conduct a normal, fair, content-filled electoral campaign, because it is a very important election for this country, and not to have this interval parasited with a debate that a referendum would require. President Iohannis’ mandates have ended, or will end in two months, or however many there are left. The opinion about them is formed. The historical discussion about them will follow. I do not think that this is the topic of Romania now, to discuss for or against what Mr. Iohannis has done in the ten years”, he explained.

The PSD-PNL candidate for presidential elections voiced hope that, if the president decides to resign, that we have an interim presidency and do this campaign, and if the president does not choose this, he hopes that the suspension request will not pass. “Entering into a referendum now, apart from the image of additional instability for Romania, we are simply wasting time on something else and this would only be in favor of ultranationalist or extremist forces,” he believes.

According to Antonescu, “a debate now, for another two months, only serves those who have a different orientation and other intentions.” “I deplore the fact that the USR, which is part of the pro-Western camp, in my opinion, I hope I am right, nevertheless led, by joining with the others, to this situation,” Antonescu emphasized.