Romania’s Marcel Ciolacu has resigned as prime minister following the results of the country’s presidential election first round, stating that his coalition was “no longer legitimate as it hasn’t sent its candidate to the second round”.
On May 4, nationalist leader George Simion of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) won the re-run of the first round with 41 per cent of the vote. Second was independent candidate and Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan. They will now contest the second election round on May 18.
Ciolacu also declared that the Social Democratic Party (PSD) would withdraw from the ruling coalition, effectively dissolving it.
“I have proposed to my colleagues to leave the governing coalition, which implicitly leads to my resignation as prime minister,” Ciolacu told the press after a party meeting on the evening of May 5.
“We saw how Romanians voted yesterday, which means that the ruling coalition has no legitimacy, at least in this formula,” he added.
Despite the collapse of the coalition, PSD ministers will remain in office in an interim capacity until a new majority is formed after the run-off on May 18.
The interim government can only issue acts on the administration of public affairs until the members of the new executive is sworn in.
Early elections would be held if two successive attempts to form a government were unsuccessful.
George Simion, leader of Romania’s right-wing nationalist AUR party, has won in the first round of the re-run presidential election, taking 41 per cent of the vote and winning 36 of the country’s 47 electoral districts. https://t.co/jDckDQPjtI
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 5, 2025
In response to the political shift, interim President Ilie Bolojan appointed Cătălin Predoiu as interim Prime Minister on the morning of May 6.
Bolojan has been serving as interim President since then-president Klaus Iohannis resigned in February 2025 under pressure from the right-wing populist opposition.
Predoiu, who was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs on December 23, 2024, also became interim President of the National Liberal Party (PNL) in February 2025.
The Liberals have stated they did not intend to leave the government and would support Dan in the second round of the presidential election.
Predoiu said on the evening of May 5: “PNL has ministers in the government who have taken the oath. They will exercise their duties. PNL has members in parliament who have sworn to serve the interests of Romanians.
“As long as these mandates are in office, PNL does its duty.”
The PSD leadership refused to endorse either of the two candidates in the second round. “Each sympathiser will vote according to his conscience,” Ciolacu said.
In December, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of the original presidential election after populist right-wing candidate Călin Georgescu unexpectedly emerged as the winner.
Although Georgescu faced accusations of receiving support from Russia, no substantial evidence was presented to support the claims.
The annulment plunged Romania into a prolonged political crisis, leaving the country without a clear electoral outcome for months.
COMMENT: The message from Călin Georgescu's recent detention is clear: political opposition in Romania is not just discouraged, it is criminalised, writes @BogdanosK. https://t.co/FiAo2xbet8
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 28, 2025
