BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) 鈥� A top Romanian court on Friday annulled the first round of the country's presidential election, days after allegations that Russia who won the first round.
The Constitutional Court鈥檚 unprecedented decision 鈥� which is final 鈥� came after President Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence on Wednesday that alleged Russia ran a sprawling campaign comprising thousands of social media accounts promoting across platforms such as TikTok and Telegram.
The intelligence files were from the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunication Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Despite being an outsider who declared zero campaign spending, Georgescu . He was due to face reformist Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party in a runoff on Sunday.
Iohannis said that once a new government is formed, new dates will be set to rerun the vote from scratch, and that he will remain in office until a new president is elected. Some 951 voting stations had already opened abroad on Friday for the runoff for Romania鈥檚 large diaspora but had to be halted.
Sandwiched in the week in between the scheduled presidential race, Romania also which saw pro-Western parties win the most votes but also gains for far-right nationalists.
In a televised statement Friday, Iohannis said he was 鈥渄eeply concerned鈥� by the contents of the intelligence reports, which indicated one candidate鈥檚 campaign was 鈥渦nlawfully supported from outside Romania鈥� and was a matter of national security.
鈥淭he same candidate declared zero campaign expenditures, despite running a highly sophisticated campaign,鈥� he said. 鈥淚ntelligence reports revealed that this candidate鈥檚 campaign was supported by a foreign state with interests contrary to Romania鈥檚. These are serious issues.鈥�
Lasconi strongly condemned the court's decision, saying it was 鈥渋llegal, immoral, and crushes the very essence of democracy.鈥�
鈥淲e should have moved forward with the vote. We should have respected the will of the Romanian people. Whether we like it or not, from a legal and legitimate standpoint, 9 million Romanian citizens, both in the country and the diaspora, expressed their preference for a particular candidate through their votes. We cannot ignore their will!" she said.
鈥淚 know I would have won. And I will win because the Romanian people know I will fight for them, that I will unite them for a better Romania,鈥� she added. 鈥淚 will defend our democracy. I will not give up.鈥�
She said the issue of Russian interference should have been tackled after the election was completed. Some 9.4 million people 鈥� about 52.5% of eligible voters 鈥� had cast ballots in the first round.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said in a statement the annulment was 鈥渢he only correct solution鈥� following the intelligence drop which revealed the 鈥淩omanian people鈥檚 vote was flagrantly distorted as a result of Russian interference.鈥�
鈥淭he presidential elections must be held again,鈥� he said in a post on Facebook. 鈥淎t the same time, investigations by the authorities must uncover who is responsible for the massive attempt to influence the outcome of the presidential election.鈥�
The same court last week ordered a recount of the first-round votes, which added to the myriad controversies that have engulfed a chaotic election cycle. Following a recount, the court then on Monday.
Many observers have expressed concerns that annulling the vote could trigger civil unrest.
George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, said the development was a 鈥渃oup d鈥櫭﹖at in full swing鈥� but urged people not to take to the streets. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 let ourselves be provoked, this system has to fall democratically,鈥� he said.
Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, said the court's decision amounts to a 鈥渃risis mode situation for Romanian democracy.鈥�
鈥淚n light of the information about the external interference, the massive interference in elections, I think this was not normal but predictable, because it鈥檚 not normal times at all, Romania is an uncharted territory,鈥� he told The Associated Press. 鈥淭he problem is here, do we have the institutions to manage such an interference in the future?鈥�
presidential vote in this European Union and NATO member country. The president serves a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in areas such as national security, foreign policy and judicial appointments.
Before the first round vote, most surveys predicted the top three candidates would be Ciolacu, who came in third place, and Simion or Lasconi in second place. As the surprising results came in with Georgescu on top, and Lasconi narrowly beating Ciolacu, it sent shockwaves through the political establishment and plunged it into turmoil.
Georgescu鈥檚 surprising success in the presidential race left many political observers wondering how most local surveys were so far off, putting him behind at least five other candidates before the vote.
Many observers attributed his success to his and 541,000 followers. But some experts suspect Georgescu鈥檚 online following was artificially inflated while Romania鈥檚 top security body alleged he was over other candidates.
In the intelligence release, the secret services alleged that one TikTok user paid more $381,000 (361,000 euros) to other users to promote Georgescu content. Intelligence authorities said information they obtained 鈥渞evealed an aggressive promotion campaign鈥� to increase and accelerate his popularity.
Georgescu, when asked by whether he believes the Chinese-owned TikTok poses a threat to democracy, defended social media platforms.
鈥淭he most important existing function for promoting free speech and freedom of expression is social media,鈥� he said.
Stephen Mcgrath, The Associated Press
