Romania’s outgoing president quits to pre-empt impeachment bid before election re-run

But in January, three far-right opposition parties, which control around 35% of parliament seats, filed a motion to impeach Iohannis.With the motion up for a vote, and Iohannis deeply unpopular, analysts have said some lawmakers from mainstream pro-European parties could give the hard-right’s impeachment effort the required majority.“The request will have consequences both domestically and abroad,” Iohannis told reporters. “To spare Romania this pointless and negative crisis… I am resigning from the president’s office.”Senate speaker Ilie Bolojan, head of the Liberal Party, a member of the ruling coalition, will take over as interim president with limited powers until the election.The three hard-right groupings, whose support has risen since Georgescu’s surprise win, had used their campaign against Iohannis as a reason to stage protests and seize the political agenda.