An Election Heard ‘Round the World: Romanians Hold a ‘Do-Over’ Vote
NEED TO KNOW
An Election Heard ‘Round the World: Romanians Hold a ‘Do-Over’ Vote
ROMANIA
What happens when there is a do-over and the results are the same? This is what many in Romania, the European Union, and elsewhere fear will happen when the country holds a rerun of its presidential election May 4, a vote some say will have consequences far beyond its borders.
“What happens next in the country, which ousted communist rule 35 years ago, will be of critical importance to the European Union and Western powers,” wrote the Australia-based Lowy Institute, a think tank. It noted that some of those fears center on how Romania is slated to host NATO’s largest military base in Europe and the continuation of the Ukraine war, even as pro-Russian, anti-NATO candidates are leading the polls.
The election is also a high-stakes test for the former communist country, with officials hoping it will end the most severe political crisis it has faced since 1989, when the Romanian revolution ousted the country’s longtime dictator, Nicolae Ceaușescu.
The current crisis was triggered by the presidential election on Nov. 24 after a little-known, independent, far-right candidate, Călin Georgescu, had polled in the single digits ahead of the election, but won the first round of the vote.
That set off shock in the country and also raised questions: How could the obscure, Russia-friendly, anti-NATO candidate, who has praised fascist figures from Romania’s past, beat other, higher-polling candidates, Romanian officials wondered.
Officials appealed to the country’s high court, which upheld the election result until Romanian authorities declassified intelligence documents that confirmed “aggressive hybrid Russian attacks” on the election involving voter manipulation, campaign irregularities, and questionable funding. The intelligence also detailed links and substantial financial flows between paid influencers on TikTok and Georgescu’s campaign, although the candidate had declared no campaign spending.
TikTok, meanwhile, confirmed recently that it dismantled covert influence networks that targeted Romanians, promoted the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romania (AUR) party, and Georgescu.
Moscow has denied any interference.
Soon after the release of the intelligence, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the vote and reset it for May – then in March, the court banned Georgescu from running in it.
Georgescu, who has now been charged with “anti-constitutional acts” and other crimes, says he has done nothing wrong. He has denounced the court’s verdict as an “officialized coup” and an attack on democracy. “Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is living under tyranny,” he said.
Meanwhile, the court’s decisions have set off months of protests.
In one, in early March, protesters marched in the capital, Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags, chanting slogans such as “Down with the Government!” and shouting, “Thieves,” in reference to the “stolen” election.
Romanians who voted for Georgescu say they are angry that their votes have been invalidated, and that he was their chosen candidate. “I want Georgescu to straighten everyone out,” one supporter told the BBC. “They tricked us. The others have done nothing for us here!”
Meanwhile, some of the most vocal support for the former candidate has come from the United States, from officials such as Vice President JD Vance and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, a senior advisor to the US president, wrote World Politics Review.
Many Romanians share Georgescu’s views that membership in NATO and the EU has failed to bring the country any benefit, saying its aloof liberal leaders are out of touch with the realities of their lives, noted the Atlantic Council. The court’s decision to annul the election further undermined faith in the country’s leadership and its democracy, analysts added.
On the other hand, many frame the current election as a fight for democracy and a more prosperous future.
“I’m really anxious,” Laura Boncu, 33, a pro-EU protester in Bucharest, told France 24. “I don’t know how our future will look if the pro-Russian candidate will win. So I’m here to show that Romania is still a democracy, and we’re fighting, and we’re showing up to be able to live tomorrow in a democracy.”
Currently, 11 candidates are running in the first round of the new election. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held on May 18.
The frontrunner is George Simion, the leader of the AUR party, who came fourth in last year’s election and later backed Georgescu. He’s polling well ahead of the other candidates, running on a campaign of “family, nation, faith, and freedom.”
Simion’s win has the establishment in Romania and the EU worried because of his anti-EU rhetoric and opposition to aiding the country’s neighbor, Ukraine, in its war with Russia.
Another key candidate is Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan, who is running as an independent, promising an “Honest Romania.” He is being backed by Romania’s center-right Save Romania Union (USR) party, whose leadership believes he has a better chance than its own party’s candidate, Elena Lasconi, who came in second in the initial vote but whose polling has declined steeply since then.
Another contender is Crin Antonescu, who is backed by Romania’s governing coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the National Liberal Party (PNL), and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania. A former leader of the PNL, he is best known for his stint as interim president a dozen years ago.
The wild card is Victor Ponta, a former leftist turned far-right populist who served as prime minister between 2012 and 2015, when he resigned after a fatal nightclub fire blamed on corruption in government. He is running on a “MAGA-style ‘Romania First’” platform. Still, he has recently come under fire for allowing Romanian farmland to flood to save Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.
One scenario that has been giving establishment politicians nightmares is what may happen if in the first round, Simion comes in first place, and Ponta in second.
“There is a real risk that the second round of the presidential elections will be seized by two extremists who want to take Romania out of the European Union,” the USR party said, adding that the election has “historic stakes.”
Yet that’s a real possibility, say analysts, pointing to how Romania has spent decades trying to build democratic institutions with help from the EU but has been plagued by poverty, high unemployment, and rampant corruption that have undermined the public’s faith in its democracy. Instead, like in other EU countries, the far-right has grown in Romania in recent years, fueled by widespread anti-establishment sentiment.
Last year’s annulled election only further weakened the public’s shattered trust in politicians and in democracy, analysts added, and it could take years to repair the damage. In the meantime, it’s a volatile situation with an “underlying social discontent that could explode again,” Cristian Andrei, a political analyst in Bucharest, told the Associated Press.
“The underlying issue in Romania is the widespread public dissatisfaction with the political class,” he said. “It’s important to keep reminding the public of what happened: that we were facing a campaign that attempted to hijack Romania’s democracy using unorthodox and illegal means.”
No matter who wins, the country will remain bitterly divided. But that’s nothing new, noted Lasconi, who is running in the presidential race.
“We’ve been divided for over 35 years,” she said. “Now Romania isn’t just split in two – Romania is shattered into many pieces.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
US, Ukraine Sign Landmark Mineral Deal
UKRAINE
Washington and Kyiv signed a landmark agreement this week that grants the United States access to Ukraine’s vast mineral wealth as part of a broader deal aimed at reinforcing US support for the country, bolstering its economy and shaping Ukraine’s reconstruction, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The agreement was signed Wednesday after months of tense negotiations. It will see the formation of the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, through which profits from resource development will be reinvested in Ukraine for at least the next decade.
While American companies will gain joint access to Ukraine’s resources, including minerals, oil, and gas, Kyiv will retain ownership, the BBC noted.
Ukraine is believed to hold deposits of at least 20 out of 50 minerals deemed critical by Washington, including lithium, titanium, uranium, and rare earth elements, resources that are vital for defense and clean energy technologies.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine accounted for six percent of global titanium production and held around three percent of known lithium reserves.
However, estimates suggest that between 20 percent and 40 percent of Ukraine’s critical mineral deposits are now in areas occupied by Russian forces.
While President Donald Trump had earlier insisted that Ukraine repay the estimated $350 billion in US military aid handed out by his predecessor, Joe Biden, Wednesday’s deal does not include any repayment conditions, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed.
The agreement does include commitments for new US weapons deliveries, including air defense systems, but it lacks the concrete security guarantees that Kyiv and Europe have been pushing Washington to provide. US officials have nevertheless touted the deal as mutually beneficial, emphasizing that the presence of American businesses in Ukraine will deter Moscow from attacking the country again, while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hailed it as a step towards ending the war, ABC News reported.
It received a mixed reception in Ukraine: While Kyiv officials welcomed it as “an important milestone in the Ukraine-US strategic partnership,” many lawmakers said they would need to see the final text before ratifying it.
Meanwhile, in Russia, Dmitry Medvedev criticized the agreement as a defeat for Ukraine, claiming that Trump had coerced Kyiv into “paying for American aid with minerals.”
South Korea’s Election in Turmoil as Opposition Leader Faces Trial, Acting President Resigns
SOUTH KOREA
South Korea’s upcoming presidential elections were thrown into further disarray Thursday after the Supreme Court ordered the opposition front-runner to face a new trial for election law violations, while the country’s acting president resigned amid speculation he will participate in the June vote, the Washington Post reported.
The Supreme Court ordered a lower court to reopen a case against Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, the opposition politician who is leading in most polls, but who was initially convicted for lying during the 2022 presidential campaign. An appeals court overturned that conviction last year, only for the country’s top tribunal to quash that decision Thursday.
The Democratic Party denounced the verdict as politically motivated, claiming the judiciary was interfering in the election.
Though Lee remains eligible to run, the renewed legal proceedings could weigh heavily on his candidacy and deepen voter unease over his record.
South Korean law bars anyone fined more than $683 for election law violations from seeking office, though any ruling before election day would likely face appeals that could delay a final verdict, according to the Associated Press.
Shortly after the ruling, acting President Han Duck-soo resigned and hinted that he intends to run for the top office in the June 3 elections.
In a televised address, Han said he was taking on a “heavier responsibility” to help overcome national crises and denounced extreme politics.
South Korea has been grappling with a political crisis and divisions since Han’s predecessor, former President Yoon Suuk Yeol, issued a controversial martial law decree in December.
Han – who was serving as prime minister at the time – assumed the role of acting president subsequently when Yoon was impeached. Han, too, soon faced impeachment following accusations that he was stalling the judicial appointments needed to continue the process of impeaching Yoon.
The constitutional court overturned Han’s impeachment but removed Yoon from office last month after ruling that his Dec. 3 martial law decree violated the constitution.
Observers noted that Han – a career bureaucrat – is expected to align with Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, which remains disorganized after the former leader’s impeachment.
Some supporters see him as a competent technocrat capable of handling economic challenges, such as the US Trump administration’s tariffs. Still, critics cautioned that the 75-year-old politician lacks strong political support and is too old to lead the nation.
South Africa to Probe ANC’s Role in Blocking Apartheid-Era Cases
SOUTH AFRICA
Responding to complaints from survivors and relatives of victims, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa this week ordered an investigation into allegations that past governments led by his African National Congress (ANC) party intentionally blocked prosecutions of apartheid-era crimes, Al Jazeera reported.
The president on Wednesday announced a judicial inquiry to address allegations of “improper influence in delaying or hindering” investigations made against ANC governments – which have led the country since the discriminatory system of apartheid ended in 1994.
The decision comes after 25 survivors and relatives of victims of apartheid-era crimes filed a lawsuit against the government in January, accusing post-apartheid administrations of obstructing justice.
The plaintiffs claimed that previous ANC administrations had failed to properly probe killings, disappearances, and other abuses committed in South Africa under white-minority rule.
The families allege that since the late 1990s, ANC-led governments failed to act on the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) established in 1996 by then-President Nelson Mandela to expose apartheid-era atrocities and offer conditional amnesty to perpetrators who confessed.
Among the most prominent unresolved cases is that of the Cradock Four, a group of four Black anti-apartheid activists who were abducted and murdered by security forces in 1985.
Although the TRC denied amnesty to six security officers linked to the killings in 1999, none were ever prosecuted, and all have since died.
Since the ANC came to power more than 30 years ago, party-led governments have received criticism for prioritizing national reconciliation instead of delivering justice to the victims.
Victims’ families were skeptical that the new inquiry represents any real change, suggesting that it will only offer recommendations and will not compel legal action or resolve their claims for damages, the Guardian noted.
The families are seeking around $8.8 million to fund further investigations, litigation, and education efforts.
DISCOVERIES
Back To Basics
Between rising costs, climate anxiety and post-pandemic uncertainty, Gen Z is coming of age in a world they say feels like it’s always on fire.
Now under pressure to start a career, many young people are struggling with confidence and communication. Many in this generation fear speaking to someone on the phone, for example.
Now, a novel new program in the United Kingdom is trying to help, the Guardian reported.
Last week, the Greater Manchester-based nonprofit, Higher Health UK, launched “Skills 4 Living,” a program aimed at teaching members of Gen Z – people born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s – the kinds of “everyday but essential” skills often overlooked in the classroom, such as empathy, time-management, problem-solving, critical thinking and, crucially, how to hold a proper conversation.
The course will be primarily taught online, but students will also need to complete in-person assignments. It includes sessions on various topics, such as spotting fake news, maintaining online safety, dealing with discrimination, and avoiding scams.
Higher Health UK explained that the goal is to reach 10,000 young people across the region by September. With support from local universities, it plans to expand to young offenders, military youth, and refugees.
The initiative comes amid concerns by companies that many of their young recruits lack “essential life skills” and would rather communicate via text or email than speak to others on the phone or in person.
Complicating the matter is that employers also complain about the challenges of working with Gen Z employees, citing a lack of a strong work ethic and an inability to handle feedback well, among other issues, Euronews added.
Sandeep Ranote, a child psychiatrist and chair of Higher Health UK, explained that the program also seeks to help Gen Z build resilience because they have grown up under immense pressure.
“Young people are going into a world with huge challenges that certainly I didn’t have,” she told the Guardian. “I call it the five Cs: They lived through Covid, climate change, cost-of-living, cyberspace and conflict.”
Mental health is also one of the goals that the program seeks to address, Ranote said, describing teaching Gen Z skills and confidence to enter the workplace as “pre-prevention” against anxiety and depression.
Ramneek Ahluwalia, CEO of Higher Health UK and South Africa, where the program first started, also stressed that it seeks to address some of the gaps found in traditional education. While the traditional system focuses almost entirely on concrete job skills, he said, studies show that 85 percent of what contributes to job success comes from “soft skills.”