Romanians ruin passports following pro-EU candidate’s election win

(MENAFN) Following the victory of pro-EU candidate Nicușor Dan in Romania’s recent presidential runoff, numerous Romanians have taken to social media to protest by destroying their passports. Videos shared on TikTok and other platforms show citizens – many living abroad – cutting up their Romanian passports in frustration over the election results.

Dan, the mayor of Bucharest, secured 54% of the vote in the second round, defeating Euroskeptic rival George Simion. The election had been delayed after being suspended by Romania’s Constitutional Court last year.

In viral clips, individuals expressed disillusionment, with one woman declaring, “This is my vote for Romania. My vote is worth nothing. We will never return,” while another stated, “Romania is dead.”

The backlash coincides with allegations from Simion and his supporters that the election was manipulated. Simion claims the voter rolls were inflated by around 1.7 million fake names and accused authorities of transporting voters from Moldova to influence the outcome.

Simion’s party, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), alleges that Moldova’s ruling pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity mobilized Moldovan-Romanian dual citizens to back Dan. According to AUR, voter turnout from Moldova’s diaspora increased by more than 70% compared to the first round, and these votes made up nearly 25% of the total.

Simion previously supported Calin Georgescu, an independent right-wing candidate critical of NATO and the EU, who won the first round of voting in November 2024. However, that result was nullified by Romania’s top court, which cited foreign interference, and Georgescu was subsequently barred from running again — a move Simion described as a “coup d’état.”

Adding to the controversy, Telegram founder Pavel Durov claimed that French intelligence attempted to pressure the platform to silence Romanian conservative voices before the vote. France has denied the accusation, while Romanian officials have accused Russia of meddling — though no evidence has been provided.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov criticized the election, calling it “strange” and asserting that the leading candidate was unjustly removed. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed Romania’s interference claims and labeled the election illegitimate, advising Bucharest to fix its own "electoral mess" rather than blame others.

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