The Week in Review
A look at the main stories in Romania this past week.
Corina Cristea, 07.12.2024, 14:00
Constitutional Court of Romania cancels presidential elections
The Constitutional Court of Romania unanimously voted on Friday in favour of a ruling to cancel the entire election process for the presidential elections. The results of the first round of voting are annulled and the presidential elections will be resumed from the start, including the election campaign. “The election process to elect the president of Romania will be resumed entirely and the government will establish a new date for the election of the president of Romania, as well as a new timetable for the necessary actions”, the Court said in its ruling. The ruling is final and mandatory. Information initially circulated in the media that the Constitutional Court judges would meet on Friday in an informal meeting, to discuss whether they would hold an official meeting to debate the requests to cancel the first round of voting. Later, the judges officially ruled to cancel the presidential elections. The decision comes after the independent candidate Călin Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round held on 24th November. Georgescu was accused of benefiting from Russia’s interference with the election process, mainly through an aggressive and concerted manipulation campaign on TikTok. Georgescu was accused of pro-Russia and far right, fascist sympathies. The Supreme Council of National Defence declassified the intelligence received from the secret services and the relevant ministries relating to Călin Georgescu’s election campaign. The intelligence presented by the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service and the Ministry of Home Affairs indicates that funding for Călin Georgescu’s TikTok campaign amounted to 1 million euros, that actions by a state-sponsored cyber actor targeted IT&C support infrastructure for the election process and that Romania is a target of aggressive hybrid actions from Russia.
Romania hit by a cyber attack
A number of documents presented at a meeting of the Romanian Supreme Council for National Defence were declassified on Wednesday by president Klaus Iohannis. These include intelligence reports referring to the failure to comply with electoral advertising rules ahead of the first round of the presidential elections on 24th November. The reports also indicate that an aggressive promotion campaign was conducted that eluded national election legislation and which made use of social media platforms in order to boost the popularity of Călin Georgescu. The increase in the number of accounts promoting him was not organic, and the activity of these accounts was allegedly coordinated by a state-sponsored actor, which used an alternative communication channel to spread the messages on TikTok. The report of the Romanian Intelligence Service also notes that Romania is a target for aggressive hybrid actions from Russia, including intelligence leaks and sabotage.
The General Prosecutor’s Office announced that it is opening a criminal investigation based on the information contained in the documents of the Supreme Council for National Defence. The inquiry concerns suspicion election crimes that may have influenced the voting process through methods such as corrupting voters, including online. The investigation also concerns money laundering crimes, in relation to the origin and use of the money used for the illegal financing of a candidate’s electoral campaign and computer crimes aimed at influencing voters.
Political uncertainty has affected the economy, with confidence among the business community and investors falling to fallen to pandemic levels, according to CFA Romania. The Stock Exchange opened in the red. In Washington, the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the Romanian authorities have revealed a large-scale and well-financed Russian effort to influence the presidential elections. In response, Russia rejected the accusations, which it considers unfounded. In the context of the Romanian elections, the European Commission has intensified its monitoring of the TikTok platform, asking it to take steps to secure information related to all EU elections in order to study them in depth.
The results of the parliamentary elections
The future Parliament from Bucharest resulting from the elections held on December 1, on Romania’s National Day, will be made up of seven political parties. The ruling Social Democratic Party got the most votes and therefore the largest number of seats in Parliament, followed by the sovereigntist Alliance for the Union of Romanians, which has doubled its vote share compared to previous elections four years ago. On the third and fourth places, respectively, are the National Liberal Party, which have been in power with the Social Democrats, and the centre-right Save Romania Union. Other parties that passed the minimum required threshold of 5% were the extremist and sovereignist S.O.S. Romania party, led by the controversial MEP Diana Șoșoacă, the newly established Young People’s Party (POT), led by a former member of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania.
With the final results published, talks have begun to form a majority. On Wednesday evening, the pro-European parties, namely the Social Democrats, the Liberals, the Save Romania Union and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, and the group of other national minorities, signed a joint resolution committing to form a coalition in the future Parliament. According to their leaders, this will be a coalition aimed at ensuring the country’s stability and modernisation and isolating the forces considered extremist.
Football hero passes away
Football hero Helmut Duckadam, who, together with his side Steaua Bucharest, won the European Champions Cup in 1986, passed away this week, at the age of 65. In the final against FC Barcelona on May 7 that year, Helmut Duckadam saved all four penalty kicks, an achievement which made its way into the Book of Records. Health problems forced him to give up football for good at only 27 years old. For ten years, Duckadam was in charge of public relations at FCSB, and President of Romania awarded him the Sports Merit Order.
The Gaudeamus Book Fair
For four days, Bucharest is playing host to the 31st edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair, organised by Radio Romania. The fair brings together around 200 participants, thousands of titles, special offers and over 600 editorial events. The honorary president of this edition of the Gaudeamus Fair is Mircea Cărtărescu, one of the most well-known and appreciated contemporary Romanian writers and recipient of many national and international awards.
