A Romanian Supreme Court on Friday (December 6, 2024) Annulled the first round of the country’s Presidential election, days after allegations emerged that Russia ran a coordinated online campaign to promote the far-right outsider who won the first round. The Constitutional Court’s unprecedented decision — which is final — came after President Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence on Wednesday (December 4, 2024) that alleged Russia organised thousands of social media accounts to promote Calin Georgescu, across platforms such as TikTok and Telegram.

Without naming Mr. Georgescu, the court said that one of the 13 candidates in the November 24 first round had improperly received “preferential treatment” on social media, distorting the outcome of the vote. Mr. Georgescu, as did the second-place finisher, reformist Elena Lasconi of the center-right Save Romania Union Party denounced the verdict as an “officialised coup” and an attack on Democracy.

Despite being an outsider who declared zero campaign spending, Mr. Georgescu emerged as the frontrunner who was to face Ms. Lasconi in a runoff on Sunday (December 1, 2024). Some 951 voting stations had already opened abroad on Friday (Dec. 6) for the runoff for Romania’s large diaspora, but had to be halted.

Mr. Iohannis said he would remain in office until a new Presidential election could be rerun from scratch. On Sunday (Dec. 1), one week after the first round of the Presidential race, Romania held a Parliamentary election, which saw Pro-Western parties win the most votes and gains for far-right nationalists. Mr. Iohannis said that once the new Government is formed, the date of the new Presidential vote will be set.

On Wednesday (Dec. 4), the President released intelligence files from the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunication Service, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In a televised statement on Friday (Dec. 6), Mr. Iohannis said he was “deeply concerned” by the contents of the intelligence reports. “Intelligence reports revealed that a foreign state with interests contrary to Romania’s supported this candidate’s campaign. These are serious issues,” he said.

The Constitutional Court in its published decision cited the illegal use of digital technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the use of “undeclared sources of funding.” It said one candidate received “preferential treatment on social media platforms, which resulted in the distortion of voters’ expressed will.”

Mr. Georgescu slammed the verdict as putting “democracy is under attack.”

“I have only one pact … with the Romanian people and God,” he said in a video statement. “We are no longer talking about fairness but rather about a mockery that betrays the principles of democracy … It is time to show that we are a courageous people who know that the destiny and rights of the Romanian nation are in our hands.”

Ms. Lasconi also strongly condemned the court’s decision, saying it was “illegal, immoral, and crushes the very essence of democracy” and that the second round should have gone forward. “Whether we like it or not, from a legal and legitimate standpoint, 9 million Romanian citizens, both in the country and the diaspora, expressed their preference for a particular candidate through their votes,” she said. “I know I would have won. And I will win because the Romanian people know I will fight for them, that I will unite them for a better Romania,” she added.

Some 9.4 million people — about 52.5% of eligible voters — had cast ballots in the first round in this European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) member country. The President serves a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in National security, foreign policy and Judicial appointments.

Most surveys had predicted the top candidate would be Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the ruling center-left Social Democrats. They indicated that second place would be claimed by either Ms. Lasconi or the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, Mr. George Simion. As the surprising results came in with Mr. Georgescu on top, and Ms. Lasconi narrowly beating Mr. Ciolacu, it plunged the political establishment into turmoil.

The same court last week ordered a recount of the first-round votes, adding to the myriad controversies that have engulfed a chaotic election cycle. Following a recount, the court validated the first-round results on Monday (Dec. 2). Many observers have expressed concerns that annulling the vote could trigger civil unrest. On Friday (Dec. 6) the court said that its decision was meant “to restore citizens’ trust in the Democratic legitimacy of public authorities, in the legality and fairness of elections.”

Mr. Simion, of the far-right party, said the development was a “coup d’état in full swing” but urged people not to take to the streets. “We don’t let ourselves be provoked, this system has to fall Democratically,” he said. Mr. Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, said the court’s decision amounts to a “crisis mode situation for Romanian Democracy.”

“In light of the information about the external interference, the massive interference in elections, I think this was not normal but predictable, because it’s not normal times at all, Romania is an uncharted territory,” he told The Associated Press (AP). “The problem is here, do we have the institutions to manage such an interference in the future?”

Mr. Georgescu’s surprising success left many political observers wondering how most local surveys were so far off, putting him behind at least five other candidates before the vote. Many observers attributed his success to his TikTok account, which now has 6 million likes and 5,41,000 followers. But some experts suspected Mr. Georgescu’s online following was artificially inflated while Romania’s top security body alleged he was given preferential treatment by TikTok over other candidates.

In the intelligence release, the secret services alleged that one TikTok user paid more than $3,81,000 (€3,61,000) to other users to promote Mr. Georgescu’s content. Intelligence authorities said information they obtained “revealed an aggressive promotion campaign” to increase and accelerate his popularity.

Mr. Georgescu, when asked by the AP in an interview on Wednesday (Dec. 4) whether he believes the Chinese-owned TikTok poses a threat to Democracy, defended social media platforms. “The most important existing function for promoting free speech and freedom of expression is social media,” he said.

Romania’s political landscape was left shocked after pro-Russia populist Calin Georgescu won the first round of the presidential election. The far-right leader knocked the EU-leaning premier out of the race that will be decided in a December run-off.

Calin Georgescu, running as an independent candidate for President, speaks to media after registering his bid in the country’s presidential elections, in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

A little-known, far-right populist took the lead in Romania’s presidential election on Sunday (November 25, 2024), electoral data showed, and will likely face leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in a runoff in two weeks, an outcome that rocked the country’s political landscape.

Calin Georgescu, who ran independently, led the polls with around 22% of the vote, while Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party, or PSD, trailed at 20%. Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party, or USR, stood at about 18%, and George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, took 14.1%.

After polls closed, 9.4 million people — about 52.4% of eligible voters — had cast ballots, according to the Central Election Bureau. The second round of the vote will be held Dec. 8.

Thirteen candidates ran for the presidency in the European Union and NATO member country. The President serves a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in areas such as national security, foreign policy and judicial appointments.

Mr. Georgescu, 62, ran independently and was not widely known. He outperformed most local surveys, sending shockwaves through Romania’s political establishment as he ascended to poll position.

After casting his ballot on Sunday, Mr. Georgescu said in a post on Facebook that he voted “For the unjust, for the humiliated, for those who feel they do not matter and actually matter the most … the vote is a prayer for the nation.”

Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, told The Associated Press that Mr. Georgescu’s unexpected poll performance appears to be a “large protest or revolt against the establishment.”

“The mainstream political parties have lost the connection with regular Romanians,” he said. “You don’t have strong candidates or strong leaders … there are weak candidates, weak leaders, and the parties in general are pretty much disconnected.”

Mr. Georgescu lacks an agenda, Mr. Andrei added, and has a vague and populist manifesto with positions that are “beyond the normal discourse.” His stances include supporting Romanian farmers, reducing dependency on imports, and ramping up energy and food production.

According to his website, Mr. Georgescu holds a doctorate in pedology, a branch of soil science, and held different positions in Romania’s Environment Ministry in the 1990s. Between 1999 and 2012, he was a representative for Romania on the national committee of the United Nations Environment Program.

Videos posted to his popular TikTok account, where he has amassed 1.6 million likes, depict him attending church, doing judo, running around an oval track, and speaking on podcasts.

Ahead of Sunday’s vote, many had expected to see Mr. Simion, a vocal supporter of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, face Ciolacu in the second round. He campaigned for reunification with Moldova, which this year renewed a five-year ban on him from entering the country over security concerns, and he is banned for the same reason from neighboring Ukraine.

Ecaterina Nawadia, a 20-year-old architecture student, said she voted for the first time in a national election on Sunday and hoped young people turn out in high numbers.

“Since the (1989) revolution, we didn’t have a really good president,” she said. “I hope most of the people my age went to vote … because the leading candidate is not the best option.”

Romania will also hold parliamentary elections on Dec. 1 that will determine the country’s next government and prime minister.

As the ballots were still being counted, Mr. Simion said he congratulated Mr. Georgescu and that he was “Very happy that approximately 40% of the votes of Romanians went towards the sovereign option” and would be in the second round.

Mr. Andrei, the political consultant, said Romania’s large budget deficit, high inflation, and an economic slowdown could push more mainstream candidates to shift toward populist stances amid widespread dissatisfaction.

Mr. Ciolacu told the AP before the first-round vote that one of his biggest goals was “to convince Romanians that it is worth staying at home or returning” to Romania, which has a massive diaspora spread throughout EU countries.

Other candidates included former NATO deputy general secretary Mircea Geoana, who ran independently and obtained about 6%; and Nicolae Ciuca, a former army general and head of the centre-right National Liberal Party, which is currently in a tense coalition with the PSD — who stood at 9.3%.

Mr. Geoana, a former Foreign Minister and ambassador to the United States, told the AP before Sunday’s vote that he believed his international experience would qualify him above the other candidates.

Ms. Lasconi, a former journalist and the leader of the USR, said she sees corruption as one of the biggest problems Romania faces and that she supports increased defense spending and continued aid to Ukraine.