Romania’s Constitutional Court annuls first round of presidential elections

Digi24.ro reported the information.

As a result, the entire electoral process will start over from scratch. The government will be responsible for setting a new date for the elections, with a full resumption of procedures, beginning with the registration and validation of candidates.

“In accordance with art. 146 letter f) of the Constitution, the Court nullifies the entire electoral process for the President of Romania, as established by Government Decision no. 756/2024,” the CCR stated. The decision means a new electoral timeline and all relevant actions will be implemented under a newly established government plan.

The urgent decision followed a Friday meeting where CCR judges addressed numerous requests to cancel the elections. These requests were based on documents declassified by the Supreme Council for National Defense, suggesting that the campaign of pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu was influenced by external manipulation.

Background

In the previous round of the presidential elections, Călin Georgescu secured a significant number of votes. Georgescu, known for his pro-Russian and anti-Western rhetoric, sparked widespread public discontent, resulting in large-scale protests across Romania.

His campaign gained considerable momentum through the TikTok platform. However, his TikTok presence was abruptly wiped out just before the election, as the platform removed all of his videos. This incident highlighted ongoing concerns in Romania about TikTok's influence on the electoral process, with accusations suggesting that the platform had an undue impact on the presidential race.