Thousands of protesters marched in the Romanian capital Bucharest on Sunday to protest the Constitutional Court’s decision last month to order a rerun of presidential elections.
They demanded that a vote be held and that outgoing centrist President Klaus Iohannis resign immediately.
“We demand a return to democracy through the resumption of elections, starting with the second round,” said George Simien of the right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR).
Why did Romania’s top court cancel the first round?
The Constitutional Court initially declared the result of the first round legal, but surprisingly annulled it two days before the runoff, scheduled for 8 December.
It came as far-right populist Calin Georgescu became a surprise front-runner thanks to a social media campaign in Russia’s name. Georgescu denied that Russia supported his campaign.
The decision was based on declassified intelligence alleging “aggressive hybrid Russian attacks”, which said coordinated campaigns were carried out on influential accounts on TikTok and Telegram to promote Georgescu.
Georgescu, an independent candidate who had declared zero campaign spending, was polling in single digits just before the election, but polled only 23% of the vote ahead of second-place centrist Elena Lasconi, who had 19%. .
When will the presidential elections be held again?
The court ordered a re-run of the two-round presidential election in its entirety.
Party leaders agreed to hold the first round of voting on 4 May and two weeks later on 18 May.
It is unclear whether Georgescu will be allowed to run in new elections.
Iohannis, whose term ended on December 21, will remain in office until his successor is elected.
ess/lo (Reuters, AP)
