Romanian Court Cancels Presidential Election Results After Allegations Of Russian Intervention

UNSPLASH/Amadeus Moga ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The Romanian high court canceled the results of the first round of presidential elections in the country following allegations of Russian interference. The court said the entire presidential election process scheduled for completion this weekend should be repeated.

The second round is scheduled for Sunday and the vote has already started at polling stations overseas.

Candidate Georgescu, pro-Russian far right-wing candidate, will face European pro-EU centrist leader Elena Lasconi.

Reported by Reuters, Friday, December 6, after conducting a poll before the first round of presidential elections on November 24, Georgescu took first place raising questions about how such a surprise could happen.

Georgescu's victory will overturn pro-Western politics in the European Union and NATO member states, pushing them closer to countries in central and eastern Europe with strong and friendly populist politicians against Russia, including Hungary, Slovakia, and Austria.

However, the decision issued on Friday plunged the country into institutional chaos as President Klaus Iohannis' term ends on December 21 and it is unclear who will be the head of state after that date.

Analysts say the decision may erode institutions, spark street protests and ultimately continue to jeopardize the pro-Western attitude of the country.

Documents classified by Romania's top security board on Wednesday said the country was the target of Russia's aggressive hybrid attack during the election period.

"The election process to elect the Romanian president will be fully restarted, and the government will set a new date and calendar for the necessary steps," the court said.

The decision was made to ensure justice and legality of the election process.

A detailed explanation of his decision will be released in the future. The court passed the first presidential round on Monday. Lasconi condemned the decision.

"The decision of the Constitutional Court is illegal, immoral, and destroys the essence of democracy, voting," he said.

However, Democratic Social Party Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu backed the move, calling it "the only right solution".

The second round of votes on December 8 will be the third vote in a row after the first presidential round and parliamentary elections on December 1 in which far-right parties gain a third seat, although the ruling Social Democratic Party appears as the largest group and hopes to form a pro-EU coalition government.

The parliament's vote was not affected by a court ruling on Friday.

George Simion, leader of the far-right opposition Alliance for Uniting Romanias (AUR) called the court's decision a "coup".