Thousands of Romanians rallied in Bucharest and cities across the country on Sunday to protest against government plans to decriminalize some offences and pardon some convicted prisoners through emergency decrees that critics say threaten to undermine a crackdown on high-level graft.
The new cabinet of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu last week unveiled the draft decrees that have been criticized by the president, the prosecutor general, the supreme court, the chief anti-corruption prosecutor and the chief of the directorate fighting organized crime, as well as civil rights groups and diplomats.
All have expressed concern about the drafts, as well as a lack of transparency and the intention to legislate through decrees instead of going through parliament, despite having a strong majority there.
On Sunday more than 15,000 people in Bucharest gathered in freezing weather at University Square, the site of all major protests since Romania overthrew the communism in 1989, Reuters reports.
Protesters of all ages carried banners that read "We are awake", "We want justice, not corruption", chanted "Thieves" and marched towards government headquarters. Iohannis joined them briefly.
Thousands also rallied in the cities of Cluj, Timisoara, Iasi, Sibiu and several other cities across the country.