Romanian Presidential Elections to be Completely Redone

bucharest - The Romanian High Court has ruled that the presidential elections must be completely redone due to alleged Russian interference.

The Romanian High Court has decided that the presidential elections must be completely redone. Originally, Romanians were supposed to go to the polls for the second round this coming Sunday. They would have had the choice between pro-European Elena Lasconi and independent candidate Calin Georgescu, who has made right-wing radical and pro-Russian statements. He surprisingly came out on top in the first round on November 24.

The results raised questions about the proceedings, and the court had already addressed complaints from other candidates, but then decided that the results were valid. There was a recount of the votes, but it did not yield a different outcome.

However, on Wednesday, the Romanian Security Council announced that the country had been targeted by "Russian hybrid attacks" during the election campaign. Georgescu is said to have benefited from a coordinated campaign on TikTok, while claiming not to have spent any money. It is also alleged that he was favored by the algorithm of the social media platform.

The claims of Russian interference have also raised concerns within the European Union. The Commission has intensified supervision of TikTok and instructed the company to store all data related to the Romanian elections.

Sunday was supposed to be the final of three consecutive elections in Romania. Last Sunday, in between the two rounds of the presidential elections, a new parliament was also elected. While right-wing radical and nationalist parties saw gains, the pro-European parties secured a majority. They have already agreed to form a coalition together.

In Romania, the prime minister and the government hold more power than the president, but the president has a significant say in foreign policy matters. For example, the president represents the country at European summits and receives international guests.