Romania’s Constitutional Court orders a recount of presidential votes due to suspicion of fraud. international

Romania’s Constitutional Court (CCR, for its acronym in Romanian) has ordered this Thursday to recount the votes of the first round of the presidential election held last Sunday – in which a pro-Russian and anti-Semitic candidate won a surprising victory. Had won effectively. Those accused of illegal financing – to disprove suspicions of fraud. In a statement, the court said it had unanimously decided to recount all votes, including valid and invalid votes. According to Romanian media reports, for the time being, they have decided to postpone the possible cancellation of the elections requested by the two candidates.

CCR received two cancellation requests, submitted by Cristian Terhès and Sebastian Popescu, who finished ninth and twelfth respectively. One of them was rejected due to it being submitted after the deadline, so the magistrate only considered Terhes’ appeal. The court will meet again on Friday to debate the validity of the election and the request to annul the results.

Petre Lazariou, a former court judge, said counting of ballots could begin between Friday and Saturday, just hours before the country is due to hold another election, this time legislative, on Sunday. These elections are going to be important because of the fight between the European bloc and the extreme right, which is sympathetic to Russia and wants to re-introduce patriotism and traditional ideas like the times between the wars, when Romania fought Nazism and communism. Was adopted.

The recount represents an unprecedented decision in Romania. 9.4 million votes had to be recounted, of which more than 2.1 million were allocated in favor of Georgescu, who campaigned only on the social network TikTok, particularly attracting young people, a segment of the population that Was fed up with the irregularities. The slow growth of the rulers and the country which hardly reaches the common citizens.

In addition, magistrates have contacted the National Security and Defense Council (CSAT), which is meeting this Thursday to address the influence of social networks in elections, and have also contacted the Central Electoral Office. They will also investigate how the campaign was financed, but also whether it influenced voters’ decisions.

If it is proven that illegal financing took place, Georgescu could be thrown out of the race for head of state, before facing center-right and pro-European candidate Elena Lasconi, who came in second place. Was surprised.

Outgoing head of state Klaus Iohannis has limited himself to calling a meeting to analyze the situation with the secret services, of which there are at least six, since almost every ministry has one, while former President Traian Băsescu ( 2004–2014) has been one of the most significant in recent times. “Anything is possible in Romania, it is clear that the elections have become an unpredictable affair, which is very serious for democracy. “Elections should be held till the end, should go ahead.”

Băsescu also considers the elimination before the election of far-right MEP Diana Sosoka from the presidential race a mistake: “The CCR was involved in eliminating Diana Sosoka, I hope we are not making it an exercise,” he said. Told Digi24.

allegations of illegal financing

“The result of the presidential elections of November 24, 2024 was established after fraud committed by the independent candidate Calin Georgescu, who violated Law 334/2006 on electoral campaign financing (…), concealing the sources of financing , deceived voters through a massive online campaign promoting himself as a messianic figure who fights with his hands and zero lei (Romanian currency) campaign money. “The entire political system in Romania is asking judges to invalidate the election results,” said Popescu of the Romania Party. “He promoted himself as the right and honest candidate, the only one voted for by the Romanian people. was good to go, while he circumvented electoral law by illegally financing the entire campaign, relying on support from state entities outside the country’s borders.” He Said further.

Terhes, president of the Romanian National Conservative Party, demanded the annulment, alleging that representatives of the Save Romania union, which supports Lasconi, continued campaigning because it was no longer legal to do so and that there were irregularities in the votes cast. As for Georgescu, he is also skeptical: “We have also seen a series of bots on the Internet that constantly ask people to go to the polls and vote with a certain candidate, before the vote, which is prohibited, and, especially, on the day of voting. Now, the difference between who came in first place, and the person classified in second place is quite large; it is up to the CCR to evaluate the way in which the respective campaigns were conducted, that cannot be denied Could he have influenced the outcome of the election or not?

“We are heading towards a catastrophe. If the CCR judges decide to cancel the first round and eliminate Georgescu, it would be a big mistake. This would martyr him, turn him into Jesus Christ, and risk widespread civic mobilization. Georgescu’s supporters have already announced this,” explains political analyst Dan Tapalaga.

“Cancelling the election and possibly removing Georgescu from the contest three days before the parliamentary election would fuel the conspiracies of all sovereignist” and “anti-establishment” parties. A few days later, in the vote, it will blow up Romania with dramatic consequences,” he says, warning that the big parties risk being crushed by the mass protest vote. And it warns that “demonstrations organized by both sides (anti- and pro-European) could lead to a real risk of serious social unrest and, in turn, political and social instability.”