Romaniaʼs interim president officially takes office

On February 12, a ceremony was held in Bucharest to transfer powers from President Klaus Iohannis to interim head of state Ilie Boloianu.

This is reported by the Romanian broadcaster Europa FM.

The event took place in the afternoon at the Romanian presidential residence, the Cotroceni Palace. The countryʼs former leader officially resigned after announcing his decision on February 10. His duties will be carried out by the head of the Senate and interim leader of the National Liberal Party Ilie Boloian, the Constitutional Court ruled.

According to Europa FM, the politicians briefly chatted with each other in the palace, after which Iohannis wished Boloian success and asked him to "take care of Romania". A parade was held in the capital on the occasion of the ceremony, after which the ex-president left the residence.

Iohannisʼ term ended on December 21, 2024, amid the cancellation of the elections. Since then, he has continued to serve until a new head of state is elected.

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. Because of this, the European Commission even asked the platform to provide information on how the social network has reduced the risk of inauthentic or automated use of its service, as well as to list the risks arising from its recommended content system.

Romanian intelligence has 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.

Romaniaʼs Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of the presidential election on December 6. A new vote will be held in the spring of 2025.

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