Why Romania's Election Was Annulled And What Happens Next?

(MENAFN- The Conversation) The Romanian constitutional court annulled the country's presidential election on December 6. A runoff was due to take place just 48 hours later between far-right independent candidate Călin Georgescu and progressive, pro-western alternative Elena Lasconi.

This decision is unprecedented in Romanian history. It followed the declassification of documents by Romanian intelligence services that exposed evidence of voting manipulation through social media platforms, illegal campaign financing on TikTok, cyber-attacks orchestrated by external forces and suspected Russian interference.

The second round of voting was originally scheduled for December 8 for Romanians residing in the country. Romanians living abroad had a three-day voting window starting on December 6. The delayed enforcement of the election's annulment resulted in nearly 48,000 Romanians casting votes that were ultimately invalid.

The court's decision has ignited considerable controversy. It has exacerbated the scepticism towards governmental agencies and the more established political parties that catapulted Georgescu from relative obscurity into a commanding first-round lead .

Romania's current president, Klaus Iohannis, declassified five intelligence files related to the campaign investigation. One document indicated that 25,000 pro-Georgescu TikTok accounts became highly active two weeks before the first-round vote. Nearly 800 of these accounts had been created in 2016 and remained largely dormant until the election.

Evidence suggests that the activity of these accounts was organised through a Telegram channel, which coordinated the content that was distributed on TikTok.

The investigation also revealed that paid Romanian influencers were used to promote Georgescu. This was done both explicitly and subtly, through seemingly neutral hashtags associated with the independent candidate. One example is the hashtag #echilibruşiverticalitate, which translates to“equilibrium and verticality”.

To avoid associating their posts with the electoral campaign, some influencers did not disclose that their promotions were sponsored. Meanwhile, a Romanian citizen called Bogdan Peșchir is reportedly under investigation related to €1 million (£824,000) he allegedly donated to accounts supporting Georgescu.

Romanian law requires that all electoral campaign expenditures be declared. However, Georgescu officially declared zero campaign expenses and when presented with the evidence he upheld this claim, insisting he does not know Peșchir.

Following the release of the intelligence records, Peșchir denied financing Georgescu's campaign. He said that while some of his donations went to the candidate's supporters, others went to charity, apolitical TikTok accounts, and accounts supporting other candidates. He has claimed to have no connection whatsoever with Georgescu.

It is also alleged that Georgescu's campaign received preferential treatment from TikTok, as the platform failed to label promotional content as part of his election campaign. This led to the widespread dissemination of content promoting Georgescu, while the content of other candidates saw reduced visibility online.

On December 5, the European Commission intensified its scrutiny of TikTok. It called on the social media platform to freeze and safeguard data related to the electoral process, and to retain details about the design and operation of its recommender systems. TikTok was also asked to provide information on its efforts to tackle the risk of deliberate information manipulation.

In response, TikTok released a statement saying it was committed to upholding the“integrity of our platform” and sought to“address misleading claims transparently”.

The platform said it had countered covert influence operations by removing a network of 78 accounts operating from Romania in late November. These accounts were attempting to promote Georgescu on TikTok, as well as spreading misinformation.

And TikTok also claimed that, since September 2024, it has removed nearly 45 million fake likes, over 27 million fake follow requests, and prevented the creation of more than 400,000 spam accounts in Romania.

Alongside the coordinated TikTok campaign, documents have revealed that Romania was the target of over 85,000 cyber-attacks before and during election day. These attacks disrupted the IT and communication infrastructure supporting the electoral process.

Romania's intelligence service has said there are signs that the attacks were state-sponsored. The attacks were“highly organised” and operated in a hybrid manner by targeting critical infrastructure and shaping public opinion through misinformation.

Other documents from the ministry of internal affairs show that this aggressive campaign mirrors the influence operations conducted by Moscow during both the Ukrainian and Moldovan presidential elections in 2019 and 2024 respectively. These similarities, the ministry says, suggest Russian interference.

The decision to annul the election received mixed reactions. Lasconi argued that the decision was a hijacking of the electoral process, saying the Romanian state had“trampled over democracy”.

“Whether we like it or not, from a legal and legitimate point of view, nine million Romanian citizens, both in the country and in the diaspora, have expressed their preference for a certain candidate. We cannot ignore their will”, she said .

Georgescu repeated this claim, and released a video accusing the court of launching a“formalised coup d'état”.

On the other hand, the head of the Romanian senate and presidential candidate for the National Liberal party, Nicolae Ciucă, and Social Democrat prime minister and presidential candidate Marcel Ciolacu expressed support for all necessary measures to ensure a fair election.

The Romanian government will establish a timeline for a new presidential election, which is expected to take place in spring 2025. The process will restart, requiring candidates to gather endorsements to run. Iohannis, whose term was set to end on December 21, has announced that he will remain in office until the next president is sworn in.

Romania's abandoned election underscores the impact online misinformation campaigns can have on swaying public opinion, as well as the threat posed by the interference of foreign states on democratic elections. But it also highlights the growing necessity for a stronger regulatory framework and greater oversight and transparency from major social media platforms.

MENAFN16122024000199003603ID1108999293