Thousands of Romanians on Friday rallied outside the country’s top court to protest against the cancellation of the presidential election in which a little-known pro-Russian candidate won the first round.
Small protests have been continuing since Dec. 6, when the Constitutional Court annulled the runoff two days before it began.
The move came after Romanian intelligence files revealed that frontrunner Calin Georgescu had benefited from an unfair social media campaign deemed to be orchestrated by Russia. Moscow has denied interference in Romania’s election.
The cancellation of the presidential election has eroded trust in state institutions and angered voters who are hostile to mainstream parties over political infighting and corruption allegations.
Romania’s Western partners however have supported the annulment, praising Bucharest for responding decisively to alleged Russian interference in the electoral process.
Far right and anti-Western parties have benefited from the crisis of confidence and won a historic one-third of parliamentary seats in December 1 elections.
Calin Georgescu’s lawyer appealed to the Constitutional Court to reinstate the election. Georgescu was not present at Friday’s protest and is believed to be abroad. He has vowed to contest the annulment in the European Court of Human Rights.
On Friday in Bucharest, an estimated 4,000 supporters gathered outside the court with a mock coffin emblazoned with the word “Democracy”. They waved Romanian flags, carried Christian icons and pictures of Georgescu, and chanted “We want to vote” and “Reinstate the second round”.
In a sign of the tensions, protesters threw water bottles and pretzels at Digi24 television journalists covering the protest and ripped the number plates off the station’s car.
Romania’s ruling coalition this week agreed to rerun the two-round presidential election on May 4 and May 18. President Klaus Iohannis, whose term expired on Dec. 21, remains head of state until his successor is elected as per the constitution.
It is unclear whether Georgescu, a soil scientist who is critical of NATO and opposes Romanian support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, will be allowed to run for president again.
Romania has the longest land border with Ukraine of any European Union and NATO member. It has helped export millions of tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea port of Constanta, trained Ukrainian fighter pilots and donated a Patriot air defense battery to Ukraine.
Georgescu shot to prominence overnight on TikTok, leading to a European Union probe of the social media platform.
Nationalist AUR has announced another protest against the annulment on Sunday in Bucharest.
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