Romania’s Constitutional Court (CCR) has announced a unanimous decision to annul the first round of the presidential elections held on November 24.
IMPORTANT: Check the UPDATES at the bottom of the article for the latest news and evolutions in this ongoing situation. Things are starting to get out of control!
This unprecedented move follows the declassification of secret documents suggesting interference by a foreign state, alongside other alleged violations.
The ruling has thrown the country into political turmoil. Romanians living abroad had already begun voting in the second round when the announcement was made, with many still casting their ballots at the time.
The decision deepens the political crisis in Romania, which started with the now-annulled first round of the presidential elections, won by surprise candidate Calin Georgescu.
Following the CCR decision, the presidential election process will start from scratch. This means that we might see a completely different set of candidates in the new elections.
It remains uncertain whether Georgescu will be permitted to participate in the new elections, given prior precedents such as the exclusion of controversial candidate Diana Șoșoacă in the now-annulled contest.
A fresh election cycle raises additional logistical and legal questions. Chief among them is whether prospective candidates must repeat the lengthy process of gathering 100,000 signatures to qualify. (UPDATE: CCR’s leader confirmed to HotNews that this process will also be restarted.)
This requirement could complicate matters, as previous signatories may hesitate to endorse new candidates, even from the same political parties.
Why were the Romanian presidential elections annulled?
The CCR provided a brief explanation for its decision in a press release. Citing Article 146, letter f) of the Constitution, the Court stated:
Under Article 146, letter f) of the Constitution, the entire electoral process concerning the election of the President of Romania, conducted based on Government Decision no. 756/2024 regarding the establishment of the election date for the President of Romania in 2024 and Government Decision no. 1061/2024 regarding the approval of the calendar program for carrying out the necessary actions for the election of the President of Romania in 2024, is annulled.
They did not go in-depth with the official motives, stating this: “The arguments retained in the reasoning for the solution pronounced by the Plenary of the Constitutional Court will be presented in the content of the decision, which will be published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I.”
As of now, the Official Gazette has yet to publish the full decision, leaving the public and political stakeholders in suspense.
Unofficial sources suggest that the declassified documents point to foreign interference, breaches of electoral law, and related offenses such as money laundering.
Without hiding behind the bush, according to the documents, pro-Russian and EU-skeptic candidate Călin Georgescu benefited from undisclosed foreign funding and collaborated with foreign state-backed entities to bolster his campaign, primarily targeting voters through TikTok.
CCR’s decision – which is final and mandatory – was made after a wave of four petitions was filed on Thursday, spearheaded by the National School of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA), which raised concerns about the integrity of the election results. [Source]
Interestingly, the CCR had earlier ordered a recount of votes but found no significant irregularities. Despite this, the declassified documents appear to have tipped the scales toward annulment.
Who will remain Romania’s president until the new elections?
Current President Klaus Iohannis’ mandate ends on December 21, leaving Romania in a precarious position. With no new president likely by that date, it remains unclear who will assume leadership responsibilities.
There are two options, according to Romania’s constitution:
1. Klaus Iohannis will remain president, based on Article 83, stating: “The President of Romania exercises their mandate until the swearing-in of the newly elected President.”
This is the route that the President himself just said will be followed, in a recent press conference (see Update #4 below).
2. According to different articles in the constitution (97 & 98), the current President of the Senate will become the Interim President in case of a temporary or permanent inability to exercise duties.
What do the political leaders say?
Not all leaders have commented yet, but most praised the decision.
Elena Lasconi, the runner-up in the first round, condemned the ruling, calling it a blow to democracy. She said:
“The CCR’s decision is illegal, immoral, and crushes the very essence of democracy – the vote. […] The Romanian state has trampled on democracy. God, the Romanian people, truth, and the law will prevail. You are driving the country into anarchy. We should have proceeded with the vote. “
By contrast, PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu welcomed the decision, describing it as the only appropriate response to the declassified documents:
“The CCR’s decision to annul the presidential elections is the only correct solution following the declassification of documents from the CSAT meeting, which reveal that the results of the Romanian vote were blatantly distorted due to Russia’s interference. The presidential elections must be held again,” he wrote in an official statement quoted by G4Media.
Extremist political party AUR’s leader, George Simion, also criticized the decision but tried to calm the situation down. He wrote on Facebook:
“SHAME!!! A coup is underway! We will not take to the streets, we will not be provoked – this system must fall democratically!”
In a televised statement, Simion described the situation as volatile, stating: “We are sitting on a powder keg.” However, he cautioned against escalating tensions, warning: “We don’t need the situation in the country to become like in Georgia,” referencing the protests and unrest that followed allegations of election fraud there.
The article is still being updated. Come back often for new details – check them out below.
UPDATES
UPDATE 1: A request for the Romanian Parliamentary Elections to be annulled has been filed by DREPT party leader, Vlad Gheorghe. He said that this vote also took place under the “hybrid war” conditions that led the CCR to annul the presidential elections. [via G4Media]
UPDATE 2: PNL also released a statement, showing their support of CCR’s decision. The statement reads:
“The decision adopted by the Constitutional Court is a serious one that must be respected. It was made in light of allegations of election interference and severe disruption of the electoral process. In this context, it is essential that the reasons behind this decision are clearly explained,” reads a statement from the National Liberal Party.”[via G4Media]
UPDATE 3: The Party of European Socialists posted a message on Facebook, showing their support for the CCR decision. They said: “The PES welcomes the decision of the Romanian Constitutional Court to annul the results of the first round of the Presidential elections in #romania. The court ruled in favour of the democratic process, which must be kept safe from influence outside the country.”
UPDATE 4: Current President, Klaus Iohannis, held a press conference, where he said:
“A candidate unlawfully benefited from massive electoral promotion during the two days when this is prohibited […] First and foremost, after the validation of the parliamentary elections, the next steps will be the convening of the new parliament, consultations with the parties, and the formation of Romania’s new government. The new government will establish the dates for the upcoming parliamentary elections.”
“I will remain in office until a new President of Romania is elected. When the new president is sworn in, I will leave this position.”
UPDATE 5: Calin Georgescu still hasn’t made any public comments, even though it’s 9 PM at the moment and it’s been several hours since CCR’s announcement was made.
An official statement was expected at this time, but so far, nothing. Hopefully, Calin Georgescu will get his speech ready and share it with the world sooner rather than later. I will keep you posted.
UPDATE 6: Still no live presence from Calin Georgescu, who did send a recorded video message, saying: “The Romanian state has trampled democracy. What we are witnessing is a mockery. The Romanian people are demanding their rights today. Around us, we see party leaders trembling with fear as the files that will expose them come to light. Essentially, on the same day, the corrupt system in Romania made a pact with the devil.” [via Mediafax]
UPDATE 7: Calin Georgescu also released an official statement, asking the electoral authorities to ignore the Constitutional Court’s decision and organize the elections “democratically” because they can’t be punished if they do.
Here is the full statement:
“The decision to continue the voting process lies solely with the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) and the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP)!
If BEC and AEP respect democracy, these two institutions can allow democracy and the voting process to proceed, as their decision cannot be legally sanctioned by any other institution.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the Constitutional Court’s ruling cannot be challenged. However, any decision made by BEC or AEP can be appealed by Mr. Călin Georgescu to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, which will indeed happen in the name of the people and democracy! In conclusion, we urge the members of BEC and AEP to do what is right for our people and not to halt the voting process.”
Update 8: It’s official! The Constitutional Court decided that Klaus Iohannis will continue to be Romania’s President after his term expires on December 21st, until a new President is elected. [source]
As it was expected, criticism of this decision started to surface, with UDMR’s leader Kelemen Hunor saying that such a decision is not democratic, as the President is the one elected by the people and nobody elected Iohannis.
However, CCR’s decision is based on Romania’s constitution which states that “The President of Romania exercises their mandate until the swearing-in of the newly elected President.”
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Thanks for the update!
My pleasure! I will probably update this a few more times before things settle down.
Who ever heard of an election being thrown out and especially a first round election? This only happens in the most corrupt countries with entrenched incumbents like Zimbabwe! I said it in one of my comments to a previous post on the elections, the CCR is packed full of PSD party loyalists who are doing the bidding of Ciolacu, the candidate who got squeezed out of the second round by the USR candidate Elena Lasconi.
Ciolacu’s praise for the decision and Lasconi’s condemnation shows who benefits and who suffers from this decision. The allegation of Russian interference is a hilarious pretense and reminds me of the famous scene from the movie Casablanca in which Inspector Renault runs into Humphrey Bogart’s bar, which everyone knows is a casino too, and proclaims, “I’m shocked! There’s gambling going on here!” A waiter then hands him a stack of money on a silver platter and whispers to him, “Your winnings, Sir” which Renault quickly sticks in his pocket.
Everyone and their uncle knows Russia tries to exert influence on all Western elections, usually in favor of extreme right wing pro-Russian parties. The PSD was long the beneficiary of such meddling until AUR became the apple of Moscow’s eye. Obviously, Russia loves Georgescu, who left the AUR Party, even more.
The entire first round/second round voting system was created specifically for situations like this where an extremist candidate might survive the first round but could then be defeated in a head-to-head second round with just one opponent. No. This is a theft of the Romanian presidency from Elena Lasconi. She knows it. Any honest observer can see that the thief is Ciolacu and the PSD.
The CCR first tried to come to Ciolacu’s rescue by ordering a quick vote recount and when that didn’t produce the desired result, they pulled this Russian red herring out of a hat. And you just know there will be Russian interference in the re-run election too. What is the CCR going to do? Block TikTok? No, when Ciolacu makes the second round instead of Lasconi, the CCR will wash its hands and say, “There, we fixed that!”
Yours is an unpopular opinion here in Romania, but I agree with it. This will only deepen the distrust people have in the authorities and it will have implications we can’t predict at the moment – including even more people turning to nationalists and extremists who promise the change.
Putting my tin foil hat on, I can say that maybe their reports showed that Georgescu would win the second round – which would’ve been a disaster. It would’ve been a close battle either way, so they probably took the easiest way out.
It’s not clear now if Georgescu will even be allowed to re-enter the elections whenever they will happen. Based on their reasoning for canceling the elections, it would make them look stupid if they allowed him to participate. On the other hand, if they don’t… other scandals would follow.
If Ciolacu had thrown his support behind Lasconi, that would have created a formidable voter block against the three right wing parties. Or do you think a certain misogynist impulse would have overwhelmed the rational minds of many Romanian voters similar to what happened in the USA? Oh, well. The sooner people learn that elections have consequences, the better, even if those consequences are quite painful. Thanks for keeing us informed.
He eventually yet reluctantly expressed his support for Lasconi. But yes, for various reasons, I think many of his supporters wouldn’t have voted for her. These are just opinions, and we will never know how it would’ve all gone.