Romania’s Constitutional Court has annulled the recent presidential election and ordered new elections following allegations and evidence of possible Russian interference.
This is a shocking ruling by Romania’s Constitutional Court, which comes after two weeks of high political tension.
All predictions, any certainty went out the window.
For now, the streets of Bucharest are calm as people tune in to the news.
Annuling the entire presidential election is a bold choice, but it follows the unprecedented steps taken by the outgoing president to order the declassification and release of intelligence documents.
The document accused “state-sponsored actors” of a massive online influence campaign to sway votes in favor of fringe politician Karin Georgescu.
Others talked about attempts to hack election websites and links to Russian cybercrime sites. The third file states that Russia was waging a hybrid war here.
Romanians are also connecting the dots and blaming Moscow. It brings back dark memories for many.
At a rally outside the university on Thursday night, I met people who remembered their days under the communist dictatorship and genuinely feared that today’s Russia is interfering here.
At the bookstore, a children’s author said that if Romania turned away from the European path and there was any sign that freedom was being lost, he would “leave immediately”.
It is certainly true that Georgescu’s policies – ending aid to Ukraine, comments questioning the point of NATO or undermining the EU – are beneficial to Moscow.
In the Kremlin, there is denial of any role in these events, but I am sure that people are happy that Russia is seen as very powerful. Its tentacles are so far-reaching that it even threatens to shake up Romanian politics. NATO members have long been considered stable and reliable partners.
But when we meet the man at the center of all this controversy, Karin Georgescu thinks that his meteoric rise, from the fringes to the front-runner in the election, is due to Russian interference. I scoffed.
In fact, he laughed out loud.
He told me that Vladimir Putin was a “leader and patriot,” but claimed he was “not a fan.”
Soft-spoken and smooth-spoken, he says he’s been blocked because he challenges the political establishment. He believes his “Romania First” politics have real appeal to people here.
As for that last point, he’s probably right.
I have actually never met anyone in Bucharest outside of Georgescu’s immediate team who admitted to voting for him. But his online content, which flooded TikTok, contained many messages that appealed to the culturally conservative country, particularly in areas outside the capital.
He talks about sovereignty, about God, and about fighting “the system.” He says people’s lives should be better.
Will any of his followers believe the reports that he is a Russian project and accept the cancellation of the vote? Or will we emerge from behind our computer screens and cell phones to protest?
For now, people are being asked to stay home and stay calm. A new election may not be held until spring. That’s a long time in Romanian politics.
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