Durov Offers to Help Romanian Democracy

(MENAFN) Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, has declared his willingness to visit Romania and offer testimony regarding suspicions of foreign meddling in the country’s recent presidential election.

Responding to a post on social media platform X by George Simion, a nationalist right-wing contender who was narrowly defeated, Durov pledged to “help” Romania’s democratic system.

Simion asserted that the election process was influenced by “external interferences by state and non-state actors,” specifically naming France and Moldova, and called on Romania’s Constitutional Court to nullify the election results without delay.

In response to Simion's allegations, Durov stated, “I’m ready to come and testify if it helps Romanian democracy.”

The runoff election held on Sunday ended with a victory for centrist, pro-European Union candidate Nicusor Dan, who secured 53.6 percent of the vote compared to Simion’s 46.4 percent.

Despite the outcome, Simion declined to accept the results, asserting that external forces attempted to sabotage his campaign.

Unexpectedly, Durov lent credibility to Simion’s allegations by stating that Nicolas Lerner, head of French foreign intelligence, had approached him directly with a request to restrict conservative voices on Telegram in the lead-up to the vote.

However, the DGSE, France’s external intelligence agency, denied Durov’s version of events.

They maintained that their communication with him was strictly to “firmly remind him of his company’s responsibilities, and his own personally, in preventing terrorist and child pornography threats.”

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