His government also resigned.
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The recent protests were a tipping point for the embattled prime minister. Iohannis will nominate a premier which parliament will approve.
The announcement came after more than 20,000 people marched on government headquarters in Bucharest on Tuesday, demanding resignations of senior officials including Ponta because of the nightclub fire.
President Klaus Iohannis, a political opponent of the prime minister, expressed his support for the demonstrators on Facebook, declaring himself “impressed”.
The ensuing political fallout has already claimed Ponta who is awaiting trial on charges of corruption made in June. Alluding to widespread corruption and indolence, he said that if rules and norms about fire regulations had been respected “nobody would have died”. Many Romanians also suspect authorities of taking bribes to overlook the violations.
The fire began when Romanian band Goodbye to Gravity were celebrating the release of their new album at Bucharest venue, Collectiv; pyrotechnics onstage set flammable foam insulation ablaze. “The most likely scenario going forward is that the Social Democrats will continue to rule with another prime minister until next year’s elections”. “This a serious matter and we promise a quick resolution of the situation”, Dragnea told reporters. If that fails twice, early elections will be held.
The Romanian health minister recently stated that the death toll following the fire could double due to the release of toxic gas caused by the fire.
After Ponta’s resignation, a government meeting was scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday, when the cabinet is to decide on next steps.
Prosecutors say that through these invoices, the law firm and Ponta evaded 51,322 Romanian lei (US$ 12,576) in taxes.
“The next step has to belong to the politicians who can not ignore the sentiment of revolt expressed by the people”, he said in a brief statement. The New York Times reports that protesters said that the government has been too liberal about granting permits and doesn’t provide proper inspections of public venues.
In addition they singled out the Bucharest district’s mayor where the club fire happened, in addition to the interior minister. “As for the legal [blame], I will leave it to justice to pronounce”, Piedone said.
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The outrage, however, did not cease and protesters now call for reforms in a country where they believe safety is compromised because of corruption.
