Two former candidates submit requests to annul first round of presidential elections in Romania
Sebastian Popescu, the presidential candidate from the "Noua Românie" Party, and Cristian Terheș, backed by the Romanian National Conservative Party, have both submitted requests to the Constitutional Court (CCR) to annul the first round of the presidential elections. The cases concerning these annulment requests will be heard on Thursday, November 28, at 11:00 AM.
The Court was set to validate the results of the first round of the presidential elections no later than Friday, November 29, unless there were objections.
The second round of voting is scheduled for December 8, 2024, in Romania and between December 6-8 in voting sections outside the country. The Court’s ruling is important and time-sensitive, seeing as the campaign for the second round of the elections starts as soon as the voting date is publicly announced, cited by News.ro.
According to Article 50, paragraph 3 of Law 370 for the election of the President of Romania, candidates from the first round of the presidential elections, political parties, or other formations can request the Constitutional Court to annul the elections if voting and result determination occurred through fraud "likely to alter the allocation of the mandate or the ranking of candidates who may participate in the second round."
The request must be justified and accompanied by evidence on which it is based. If the court finds evidence of fraud, it will order the repetition of the voting round on the second Sunday following the annulment of the elections.
Cristian Terheș, elected as MEP in the recent European elections on the lists of far-right party AUR, filed the complaint arguing that the centrist Union Save Romania (USR) party continued electoral campaigning after the legal deadline. According to him, this continuation of the campaign could have influenced the election results, specifically the ranking between the second-place candidate, Elena Lasconi (USR), and the third-place candidate, Marcel Ciolacu (PSD).
Similarly, Sebastian-Constantin Popescu claimed that the result obtained by independent Călin Georgescu was the outcome of fraud, pointing to significant irregularities in the election process.
Ultranationalist Călin Georgescu, who joined the presidential elections as an independent candidate, unexpectedly scored a first-round victory and will face reformist leader Elena Lasconi (USR) in the second round of the presidential elections. The result sent shockwaves throughout the country and Europe and even sparked pro-European demonstrations in Romania, as Călin Georgescu's rhetoric raised concern over the country's democratic and European alignment.
(Photo source: Sebastian Popescu and Cristian Terhes on Facebook)
