Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has announced his resignation, and his Social Democratic Party is leaving the ruling coalition.
This is reported by the Romanian media Digi24.
At a press conference, the Romanian Prime Minister admitted that the government coalition had not achieved its goal of bringing its candidate Crin Antonescu to the second round of the presidential election.
"We saw yesterdayʼs vote of Romanians — it means that the coalition no longer has legitimacy. I have proposed to my colleagues to leave the coalition, which automatically leads to my resignation as prime minister. I will do this after meeting with you," he said.
Çolaku added that the Social Democratic Party will not officially support any candidate in the second round.
The Social Democratsʼ withdrawal from the coalition would mean the absence of a parliamentary majority and potential early parliamentary elections.
Presidential elections in Romania
The first round of the presidential election in Romania was held on November 24, 2024. Far-right politician Calin Georgescu and liberal pro-European candidate Elena Lasconi advanced to the second round. Lasconi beat the countryʼs incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu by just 2 700 votes.
Georgescuʼs leadership was unexpected, and he was accused of influencing the election through TikTok. Romanian intelligence found that the TikTok account bogpr, used by Romanian citizen Bogdan Pescir, participated in financing Georgescuʼs campaign. He made payments totaling $381 000 between October 24 and November 24 to users of TikTok accounts that participated in Georgescuʼs promotion.
Ultimately, the Constitutional Court of Romania annulled the results of the first round of the presidential election on December 6, 2024.
Călin Georgescu was arrested on February 26, 2025. He was accused of inciting anti-constitutional activities, spreading false information, creating a fascist organization, glorifying people accused of genocide and war crimes, and creating an anti-Semitic community. He was released after the charges were filed and is under judicial supervision.
On May 4, the first round of the Romanian presidential election was repeated. Far-right candidate Gheorghe Simion and Bucharest Mayor Nicos Dan advanced to the second round.
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