Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of the country’s presidential election Friday, ordering a complete rerun of the vote amid concerns over Russian interference in the European Union and NATO member state.
The ruling disrupts Sunday’s planned runoff between surprise first-round winner Calin Georgescu, who advocates ending Romanian support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, and pro-EU centrist Elena Lasconi. Overseas voting had already begun at polling stations abroad when the decision was announced.
“The electoral process to elect Romania’s president will be fully re-run, and the government will set a new date and … calendar for the necessary steps,” the court stated.
The decision follows Wednesday’s declassification of documents by Romania’s top security council warning that the country faced “aggressive hybrid Russian attacks” during the election period. Georgescu’s unexpected surge from single-digit polling to victory in the November 24 first round had raised questions about the integrity of the vote.
While the court’s ruling impacts the presidential election, it does not affect last Sunday’s parliamentary elections, where far-right parties showed strong performance but the ruling Social Democrats emerged as the largest party, pursuing formation of a pro-EU coalition government.
