The Uproar

Romania’s constitutional court will decide Monday whether it will annul the first round of the country’s presidential election, amid an ongoing recount of nearly 9.5 million ballots, because of suspected irregularities, Politico reported.

Protests broke out in Romania following the Nov. 24 presidential elections after results showed far-right candidate Călin Georgescu leading the first round, with reformist candidate Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party (USR) coming in second place.

On Thursday, the top court ordered a recount following a complaint by another candidate, Cristian Terheș, who alleged that votes of another presidential contender, Ludovic Orban, were illegally transferred to Lasconi.

Orban dropped out of the race too late to be taken off the ballots, but had endorsed Lasconi.

The court later said it would rule on whether to annul the results of the first round after the recount concludes. If it rules in favor of a do-over, a new first round is likely to take place on Dec. 15, with a second round two weeks later.

Georgescu, a NATO skeptic with pro-Russia leanings, shocked the political establishment by leading the first round of polls, even though he declared no election spending and mainly campaigned on TikTok.

Romanian national security officials have reported cyberattacks targeting the election and alleged that TikTok amplified Georgescu’s campaign with “sudden and artificial” engagement. The far-right candidate denied wrongdoing.

Even so, his performance sparked nightly protests across the country. Critics accuse him of praising Romanian fascist leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin, raising fears about the future of democracy in the European Union country which is also a member of NATO.

Georgescu’s success reflects broader European trends toward far-right populism, fueled by economic grievances, including high inflation and a sluggish economy, analysts said.

But while observers predicted Georgescu’s surprise win would benefit far-right and populist parties in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, early results showed the ruling left-wing Social Democrats (PSD) leading, Reuters reported.

It was unclear if the PSD would win an outright majority or have to form a coalition excluding the far-right, which will still form a substantial bloc in parliament. Results are expected early this week.