Romanian court cancels presidential election amid Russian influence fears – POLITICO

The shock win for Georgescu in the first round on Nov. 24 triggered widespread dismay among pro-Western centrists, and sparked demonstrations in central Bucharest. On Thursday night, thousands of pro-Europeans turned out to voice their support for maintaining the country’s international alliances. 

Georgescu’s fiery criticism of NATO and the EU — and his threat to end all assistance for Ukraine — stoked fears that Romania was on the brink of turning away from the West toward Moscow. 

The court’s decision follows dramatic revelations of alleged foreign influence on the contest. Earlier this week, the Romanian government declassified intelligence files that strongly suggested to a Russian-backed campaign to corrupt the election. 

The documents said 25,000 pro-Georgescu accounts on social media app TikTok burst into action just two weeks before the first-round vote. 

The risk now is that the court’s decision leaves millions of Georgescu’s supporters feeling angry and disenfranchised. 

“Shame!!! Coup d’état in full swing,” said George Simion, far-right AUR party leader who was backing Georgescu in the second round. He urged his supporters not to demonstrate in the streets against the court’s decision: “We are not taking to the streets, we will not be provoked. This system must fall democratically!”

Current Social Democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who also stood as a presidential candidate, said the ruling was “the only fair solution” after the documents revealed the scale of the alleged interference operation. “The Romanians’ vote was blatantly distorted as a result of Russia’s intervention,” he said. “The presidential elections must be rerun.”