The elections reward the pro-Russian
During the first round of the presidential elections, Calin Georgescua nationalist and pro-Russian candidate, surprised many by emerging as the winner, having proposed ending Romania’s support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion. His unexpected statement generated doubts and questions, which culminated in the Court’s decision invalidate the elections after detecting what was described as an “aggressive Russian hybrid attack” during the election period.
The Court annuls the presidential elections
As a result, it was determined that the electoral process for the President of Romania should be repeated, with the government being instructed to establish new dates and an updated calendar for the elections. Despite the annulment of the presidential elections, and that’s all the strangeness of this Court decisionthe integrity of the parliamentary votes has not been questioned, so some questions arise: how is it possible for an electoral process to be “healthy” for the parliamentary ones and tainted by Russian interference for the presidential ones? Last night the judges said they would not discuss the information received from 007, but then this morning they met unexpectedly. In fact, only on Monday did the Court’s office reject a request to annul the vote following the appeal presented by presidential candidate Cristian Terhes, convinced that some votes would have ended up illegally at Lasconi. But then today the surprise: everything has to be redone.
Political reactions to the Court’s decision have been mixed. The Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu he considered cancellation as “the only logical decision” in the face of “evidence” of outside interference. On the other hand, Elena Lasconia centrist and pro-EU candidate, the one she was supposed to challenge Georgescu at the ballot, he criticized this choice, arguing that the electoral process should have continued respecting the will of the Romanian people.
This cancellation and the investigations into alleged Russian interference place the two main candidates, Georgescu and Lasconi, in an unprecedented situation. Georgescu, with his populist, extremist and pro-Russian positions, and Lasconi, mayor of Câmpulung with a pro-NATO And pro-EUembody diametrically opposed visions in the Romanian political landscape. But now they are united in their desire not to cancel the vote. In fact, the two parties that emerged defeated, the Social Democrats and the Liberals, were the protagonists of the country’s political life after the end of the Cold War.
Something actually doesn’t add up. According to Prime Minister Ciolacu, now “the authorities’ investigations must find out who is responsible for the massive attempt to influence the outcome of the presidential elections.” But how can the vote be canceled if the responsibilities have not yet been defined?
Tensions between supporters of European values and those who fear an escalation of Russian influence were forcefully manifested in the streets of Bucharest, where thousands of people demonstrated in favor of democratic principles and unity in the European Union, highlighting citizens’ concerns about the future direction of their country. However, polls say that, if a run-off vote were to be held, Georgescu could win 47% of the votes against Lasconi’s 43%.
The accusations against Georgescu
But why were the elections annulled? Since the outcome of the vote, attention has been focused on possible Russian interference in support of Georgescu, a candidate who arrived almost from nowhere. Two days ago, the president of the RomaniaKlaus Iohannis, had declassified some intelligence documents according to which the pro-Russian victory “was not a natural outcome”, but the fruit of a campaign orchestrated by a “state actor”. The investigations revealed the existence of a sophisticated online operation that used TikTok and paid influencers with the aim of manipulating public opinion. “The authorities in Romania are shedding light on a large-scale and well-financed effort by Russia to influence the recent presidential election,” the US Secretary of State said yesterday in Malta, Anthony Blinken.
The wrath of the right
Meanwhile, the leader of the main far-right party, George Simiondefined the Court’s decision as a “full-blown coup d’état”, however they will not take to the streets because “the system must fall in a democratic way”. The Alliance for the Union of Romanians won 18% of the votes in last Sunday’s legislative elections, the second party after the Social Democrats.