Several tens of thousands of people, according to AUR estimates as many as 100,000, participated on January 12 in a rally in Bucharest organized by the nationalist party Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) against the annulment of the result of the first round of the presidential elections. It was the second rally after another one, of a smaller size, was organized on January 10.

Despite minor incidents, the rally was not marked by violence. However, some journalists from news channels such as B1TV or Digi24 were reportedly threatened by some protesters. 

The participants of the rally gathered in University Square in downtown Bucharest, from where they marched to Victoria Palace, then to Cotroceni Palace, before returning to the Government.

The participants questioned the Constitutional Court's ruling on scrapping the presidential elections, as no piece of evidence for the Russian involvement or other kind of fraud was provided so far, and also asked president Klaus Iohannis to leave the office in line with the provisions of the Constitution that allows for the extension of the five-year term only in special cases such as state of emergency.

The Constitutional Court (CCR), on December 6, 2024, scrapped the presidential elections and decided they should be repeated from the beginning after the same court previously cleared the outcome of the first round, won by ultranationalist candidate Calin Georgescu. CCR invoked "aggressive hybrid Russian attacks" and coordinated campaigns on influential accounts on TikTok and Telegram to promote Georgescu. 

Elena Lasconi, running for the reformist party USR, came second and is also challenging the cancellation of the presidential elections.

After the December 1 parliamentary elections, the former coalition of Social Democrats (PSD) and Liberals (PNL), backed by the Hungarian party UDMR and MPs of ethnic minorities, formed a new ruling coalition and scheduled new presidential elections in May.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Adriana Neagoe)