Romania's top court orders rerun of presidential election

Andra Timu and Irina Vilcu, Bloomberg News on Dec 6, 2024

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Romania’s top court ordered a restart to the presidential race following allegations of Russian meddling in the election, marking the first time in the country’s history that a vote has been annulled.

The Constitutional Court ordered a repeat of last month’s first-round presidential vote and scrapped the runoff set for Sunday, asking the government to reschedule the contest in its entirety, according to an e-mailed statement on Friday.

The runoff was set to pit opposition leader Elena Lasconi against fringe far-right newcomer Calin Georgescu, who shocked the political establishment by winning the first round on Nov. 24.

It’s been a rollercoaster election full of unprecedented twists that have exposed the vulnerability of a country that shares the European Union’s longest land border with Ukraine. Out of nowhere, anti-NATO, pro-Russia Georgescu emerged as the frontrunner in the race thanks to viral TikTok videos. The scale of the Kremlin’s involvement is what is beginning to emerge and what has been tested in a series of elections from Georgia to Moldova.

The court said the move was in response to challenges filed by non-government groups and a university in Bucharest following a report from a top security panel that “state actors” influenced the results. Prosecutors also started an investigation into a breach of the electoral law and other election-related crimes.

The move drew sharp a rebuke from Lasconi, who said the decision “destroys democracy.”

“The electoral process to elect the president of Romania will be resumed in its entirety,” the court said in a statement. “The government will set up a new date for the election of the president and a new calendar for the necessary actions.”

—With assistance from Andrea Dudik.