- Romania's Supreme Court has invalidated the first round of the country's presidential election following a declassified intelligence report that says Russia ran a massive social media campaign to promote candidate Karin Georgescu. .
- Reformist Elena Lasconi, who Georgescu was scheduled to face in Sunday's run-off, denounced the court's decision.
- The intelligence agency claimed in a disclosure that one TikTok user paid another $381,000 to promote Georgescu's content.
Romania's Supreme Court on Friday invalidated the first round of the country's presidential election, days after allegations that Russia ran a coordinated online campaign to promote a far-right outsider who won the first round. did.
The Constitutional Court's unprecedented decision (final decision) cleared Russia of allegedly running a massive campaign consisting of thousands of social media accounts to promote Karin Georgescu on platforms such as TikTok and Telegram. The decision came after President Klaus Iohannis declassified it on Wednesday.
The information files came from the Romanian Information Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunications Service, and the Ministry of Interior.
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Mr. Georgescu has emerged as the front-runner in the Nov. 24 election, despite being largely an outsider who has declared zero campaign contributions. He was scheduled to face Elena Lasconi of the reformist Union for the Salvation of Romania party in Sunday's run-off.
A new date will be set for the rebroadcast of the first round.
Rasconi strongly condemned the court's decision, calling it “illegal, immoral, and tramples on the essence of democracy.”
Karin Gheorgescu, the independent presidential candidate who won the first round of the presidential election, speaks after an interview with The Associated Press in Izborani, Romania, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Gilda)
“We should have gone ahead with the vote. We should have respected the will of the Romanian people. Like it or not, from a legal and legitimate point of view, the 9 million people, both within the country and in the diaspora, 'The Romanian people have expressed their will' through their vote to support a particular candidate cannot be ignored. ” she said.
“I know that I would have won, and I will win, because the Romanian people know that I will fight for them and unite for a better Romania. I will defend democracy. I will not give up.”
He said the issue of Russian interference should have been addressed after the election.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolak said in a statement that annulment was “the only correct solution” after a leak revealed that “as a result of Russian interference, the vote of the Romanian people was seriously distorted.” Ta.
“Presidential elections must be held again,” he said in a Facebook post. “At the same time, an investigation by authorities must uncover those responsible for this massive attempt to influence the outcome of the presidential election.”
The court last week ordered a recount of the first round of votes, adding to the myriad of controversies engulfing the chaotic election cycle.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolak at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkiye, May 21, 2024. (Turkish Presidential Office/Murat Cetin Muhrdar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, said the court's decision represented a “crisis situation for Romanian democracy.”
“Given the information about external interference and large-scale election interference, I think this was not normal, but it was predictable, because these are not normal times at all and Romania is uncharted territory,” he told the AP. ” he said. “The question is: Will there be institutions in place to manage such interference in the future?”
Thirteen candidates ran for the first presidential vote in European Union and NATO member states. The president's term is five years, and he has important decision-making powers in areas such as national security, foreign policy, and judicial personnel.
Mr. Georgescu's surprising success has many political observers wondering why most local polls are so far apart, and why he is trailing at least five other candidates before voting. I held
Georgescu has a notable TikTok following.
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Many observers attribute his success to his TikTok account, which currently has 5.8 million likes and 531,000 followers. But some experts suspect that Georgescu's online following was artificially inflated, and Romania's top security agency claims he was given preferential treatment over other candidates by TikTok. are.
The intelligence agency claimed in a disclosure that one TikTok user paid another $381,000 to promote Georgescu's content. Intelligence officials said the information they received “revealed an aggressive promotion campaign” to increase and accelerate his popularity.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, when asked if he thought Chinese-owned TikTok posed a threat to democracy, Georgescu said, “It's the most important existing platform for promoting free speech and freedom of expression.” 's function is social media.''
