Romania to restart presidential election, investigation launched against leading candidate
The Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) has decided to annul the entire electoral process of the presidential elections, despite the second round of voting already having begun for the diaspora. The ruling was announced on Friday, just two days before the second round, which was set to feature a showdown between independent candidate Calin Georgescu and Elena Lasconi, leader of the Save Romania Union.
According to the results of the first round, announced last week by the Central Electoral Bureau, Georgescu secured the lead with 2,120,401 votes (22.94%), followed by Lasconi (19.18%) and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu from the Social Democratic Party (19.15%).
The annulment followed complaints from various institutions, including Romanian National Conservative Party candidate Cristian Terhes, who gained 95,782 votes (1.04%) in the first round. On Monday, the CCR rejected a petition from Terhes seeking to annul the results of the first round of the election held on November 24. However, the CCR’s Friday ruling requires the government to set a new election date and timetable, effectively restarting the entire electoral process.
The new government of Romania will be formed after the parliamentary elections are validated on December 1. President Klaus Iohannis announced that he would remain in office until a new president is sworn in and reiterated that he has no intention of becoming Romania’s prime minister.
On Friday, Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) launched a criminal investigation into alleged cybercrimes involving Georgescu’s presidential campaign, based on declassified intelligence from Romania’s Supreme Council for National Defence.
Candidates expressed differing opinions about the annulment. Lasconi called it a setback for democracy and argued that the electoral process should have continued. She expressed confidence in winning the runoff. On the other hand, Ciolacu called the CCR’s decision “the only correct solution,” emphasizing the need for investigations to identify those responsible for the interference and reaffirming Romania’s commitment to its pro-European development.
Romania’s intelligence agencies reported that Georgescu’s TikTok campaign, funded with 1 million euros, was targeted by state-sponsored cyber actors amid rising hybrid attacks against the country, which were attributed to Russian interests. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also noted links between Georgescu’s supporters and extremist, criminal, and pro-Russian groups.
The DIICOT stressed that the investigation is still in its preliminary stages, and no formal charges have been filed.
