Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on April 16 he is rejecting a request from the justice minister to dismiss the head of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), Laura Codruta Kovesi.

The decision to keep Kovesi at the helm of the DNA will help Iohannis to maintain the support he enjoys among voters. Iohannis is an opponent of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the party’s efforts to change justice legislation — seen by critics as an attempt to protect its own top officials from prosecution in various corruption cases. Demonstrating the antipathy of his supporters towards the ruling party, Iohannis was recently criticised for accepting the PSD’s nomination for the prime minister post.

Following the decision, the political fight between the PSD and the president is likely to continue. Earlier in the day, the head of the PSD, Liviu Dragnea, said his party is “under no circumstances” considering suspending the president, irrespective of his decision regarding Kovesi’s dismissal, thus allaying fears of a constitutional crisis. But despite Dragnea's assurance, it is likely that the party will continue to try to limit the president’s powers.

Iohannis announced his decision on Kovesi’s future two months after Justice Minister Tudorel Toader initiated procedures to dismiss the DNA head on the grounds of what he said were poor managerial performances and exceeding her duties, despite the fact that the DNA’s activity under Kovesi’s management has often been praised by the European Commission. In February, Romania’s magistrates body, the CSM, also issued a negative review of Toader’s request to dismiss the head of the DNA.

“By CSM’s constitutional role, as guarantor of the independence of justice, this review cannot be interpreted as a mere optional element. Even if it does not create any obligation, it cannot be ignored either,” the president said.

Following the president’s announcement, Toader said on Facebook that the president’s refusal to dismiss Kovesi will be challenged through the Constitutional Court, adding that the president “does not have the legal capacity nor the functional competences to assess the professional and managerial activity of the head prosecutor of the DNA.”

The president’s refusal to revoke Kovesi was expected as Iohannis has often expressed his satisfaction with the DNA’s activity. 

Last year, the DNA sent to trial 13 high officials, including three ministers, five MPs and the speaker of the lower house of parliament.