Romania annuls first round of presidential election results amid Russian interference

On Friday, judges of the Constitutional Court of Romania ruled to annul the results of the first round of the presidential election. This was reported by the Antena 3 CNN.

Some sources in the court told the media that new data has emerged indicating that the November 24 elections were held with violations.

The judges ruled to annul the entire electoral process of the presidential election — it is promised to be renewed, and the government must set a new date for the vote.

On the eve, the Supreme Council of National Defense of Romania (CSAT) declassified documents of the secret services, which indicate the interference of a “state actor” in the electoral process in Romania, and also reveal data on the network behind the far-right candidate Calin Georgescu. The country's current president Klaus Iohannis announced that he agreed to the declassification of the documents.

The data indicate a huge network of accounts on the TikTok social network, activated two weeks before the elections, as well as financiers and supporters of the far-right candidate.

In addition, the documents show Russia's involvement, as well as cyberattacks by some “state actors”. Information indicates that some of the campaign supporters involved in promotion and vote buying are representatives of right-wing extremist, criminal organizations and religious cults that have previously been engaged in the propaganda of pro-Russian, anti-Semitic, anti-NATO or anti-Ukrainian ideas.

Natasha Kumar

By Natasha Kumar

Natasha Kumar has been a reporter on the news desk since 2018. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining The Times Hub, Natasha Kumar worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my natasha@thetimeshub.in 1-800-268-7116