Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Cătălin Predoiu will take over as interim prime minister following the resignation of Marcel Ciolacu. Interim President Ilie Bolojan signed a decree appointing him.

Boloian received Ciolacu, who officially submitted his resignation, at the Cotroceni Palace on May 5. It came just two weeks before the second round of presidential elections scheduled for May 18—closely watched by Brussels and Washington—deepening political turmoil in the Eastern European country.

"I have proposed to my colleagues that I leave the ruling coalition, which indirectly leads to my resignation as prime minister," the 57-year-old Ciolacu told reporters after a meeting of his Social Democratic Party (SDP).

"We saw how Romanians voted yesterday (May 4), which means that the ruling coalition has no legitimacy, at least in this form," he added.

Ciolacu said ministers from his party would discuss with their coalition partners to decide whether to remain in the government temporarily.

Simion, who heads the nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) party, won nearly 41% of the vote, twice as much as the pro-European independent mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan.

Dăn narrowly beat the ruling coalition's candidate, Crin Antonescu.

A victory for the far right in the second round could lead to a change in the country's foreign policy.

Simion, an admirer of US President Donald Trump, has criticized the "unelected bureaucrats in Brussels," accusing them of interfering in the Romanian elections.

In December, Romania's Constitutional Court annulled the vote after far-right politician Calin Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round.

The annulment followed revelations of Russian interference and a massive campaign on TikTok that appeared to favor Georgescu.

Simion called the annulment a "state coup." | BGNES