Romania’s Constitutional Court (CCR) unanimously annulled the entire presidential election process, citing its constitutional mandate to ensure the legality and fairness of electoral procedures. The court has ordered the process to be restarted from scratch. The decision came amid recently declassified reports alleging Russian involvement in cyber activities aimed at undermining the integrity of the electoral process.

The presidential election process started with the first round on November 24, which ended with the surprise win of EU-skeptic, ultranationalist independent candidate Călin Georgescu and reformist USR leader Elena Lasconi in second place. Thus, the two were supposed to face again in the second round on December 8. Moreover, Romanians abroad have already begun heading to the polls starting December 6.

The CCR ruled on Friday, December 6: “Under art. 146 letter f) of the Constitution, it annuls the entire electoral process regarding the election of the President of Romania, carried out based on Government Decision no. 756/2024 regarding the establishment of the date of the elections for the President of Romania in 2024 and Government Decision no. 1061/2024 regarding the approval of the Calendar Program for the implementation of the necessary actions for the election of the President of Romania in 2024.” 

The government is now tasked with setting a new date for the presidential election and drafting a revised electoral calendar to ensure the process complies with constitutional requirements. According to G4media.ro, this means that the candidates will have to register again and go through the validation process from the Central Electoral Office.

President Klaus Iohannis's term will legally end on December 21, 2024, and it is possible that the Constitutional Court will decide whether it will be extended or if he will be temporarily replaced by the president of the Senate, which will convene by then.

The CCR ruling is final and universally binding. It will be published in Part I of the Official Gazette and communicated to the public, the court said.

The top court also stated that the detailed reasoning behind its decision would be included in the official ruling, which would also be made public.

In a first reaction after CCR's ruling, Social Democrat prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, who also ran for president but didn't make it to the second round, said: "The Constitutional Court'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 repeated."

He also called on the authorities to investigate "who is responsible for the attempt to massively influence the outcome of the presidential election."

"Now, it is crucial to validate the mandates of the new Parliament and form a pro-European parliamentary majority to support the swift appointment of a new government, whose priority is to continue Romania's European development path. PSD, alongside PNL, USR, UDMR, and representatives of minorities, has signed an agreement in this regard and considers that, at this moment, the parties must prioritize a single national goal over their own interests – stopping extremist forces," reads the PM's post on social media.

In her turn, presidential candidate Elena Lasconi also reacted strongly on Friday to the Constitutional Court's decision to annul the elections. 

"Today marks the moment when the Romanian state trampled on democracy. We should have moved forward with the vote," Lasconi stated, according to News.ro. She condemned the court's decision as "illegal, immoral, and a crushing blow to the very essence of democracy – the vote," adding that it has undone "35 years of hard work."

"The way Russian propaganda has spread uncontrollably in our country is a very serious issue that must have consequences. However, we need to address this after organizing free elections from start to finish and showing the whole world how strong we are. I will win the presidency of Romania because Romanians now know that I will fight for them and for our democracy," Elena Lasconi also said.

The Constitutional Court convened on Friday in an informal session to discuss the latest petitions for the annulment of the elections following the declassification of documents from the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT) meeting alleging Russian involvement in cyber activities aimed at undermining the integrity of the Romanian electoral process. The documents made public on December 4 suggest that pro-Russian, EU-skeptic candidate Călin Georgescu received undeclared external financing and involved state actors in his campaign, which was mainly carried out online on the TikTok platform.

On Thursday, four such petitions were submitted by the National School of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA), the National Institute for the Study of Totalitarianism, the publication Calea Europeană, and independent candidate Cristian Terheș, according to Euronews Romania.

After the first round of the presidential elections, the Constitutional Court ordered a recount of all valid and nullified ballots after Cristian Terheș, a candidate backed by the Romanian National Conservative Party who won some 1% of the votes, filed a request alleging electoral fraud. In early-December, the court decided to validate the first-round results and maintain the original electoral schedule. 

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea)