Romania’s constitutional court has nullified the results of the first round of the presidential election, just days before the scheduled second round.
The ruling mandates a complete restart of the election process, with the government tasked with setting a new date for the vote.
The annulled first round was won by Calin Georgescu, a largely unknown far-right, NATO-skeptical candidate who has previously expressed admiration for Vladimir Putin.
The court’s decision follows the declassification of intelligence documents suggesting that Georgescu’s victory was influenced by a large-scale foreign interference operation.
In response to the court’s verdict, Georgescu appeared on Romanian television, declaring the decision an attack on democracy and likening it to a “formalized coup d’état.”
He vowed to participate in the renewed electoral process and hinted at running again.
Outgoing Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu supported the court’s decision, calling it “the only correct solution” given evidence of Russia’s involvement in distorting the election results.
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President Klaus Iohannis, in a Friday evening address, confirmed he would remain in office until a new president is chosen.
He assured Romanians that the country remains stable, pro-European, and firmly allied with NATO.
The court’s judges, initially set to delay discussions on external influence until after the second round, convened Friday morning and ruled that the entire election process, including the campaign, must start anew.
By law, elections should resume on the second Sunday after annulment, potentially December 22, but the court opted for a full rerun instead.
Last week, the court had ordered a recount of votes from the first round after allegations that TikTok had favored Georgescu’s campaign. TikTok denied the claims, stating his account received no special treatment.
Georgescu had campaigned predominantly on the platform, securing 23% of the vote, ahead of runner-up Elena Lasconi from the opposition Save Romania Union (19%) and Ciolacu from the governing Social Democrats.
Lasconi criticized the annulment, calling it “illegal” and “immoral,” accusing the state of undermining democracy.
“Whether we like it or not, from a legal and legitimate point of view, nine million Romanian citizens, both in the country and in the diaspora, have expressed their preference for a certain candidate. We cannot ignore their will!” she said.
She had hoped to secure victory in the second-round runoff scheduled for Sunday, but the election has now been canceled.
Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court dismissed allegations from two losing candidates who accused Georgescu of illegal campaign financing.
In an interview with the BBC this week, Georgescu denied being aligned with Moscow, asserting instead that the political establishment was struggling to accept his success and attempting to thwart him.
The nation now finds itself in uncharted political territory, leaving uncertainty about what lies ahead.
(BBC)
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