Romania's top court orders presidential election recount

Bucharest [Romania], December 1: Romania's top court ordered a recount of votes in
the first round of the presidential election.
The country's top security body warned Romania was a key target for hostile actions
from Russia after a shock result in the ballot.
Having polled in single digits before Sunday's vote, independent far-right politician Calin
Georgescu, 62, surged to a victory that raised questions over how such a surprise had
been possible in the European Union and NATO member state.
The Constitutional Court "unanimously ordered the re-verification and recounting of the
voting ballots for the Nov. 24 presidential election," it said in a statement.
The decision adds to the turmoil surrounding the electoral process in Romania, which is
scheduled to hold three ballots in as many weeks, votes which are crucial to the
direction of a country that has been pro-Western and a staunch ally of Ukraine.
Georgescu has previously praised 1930s Romanian fascist politicians as national
heroes and martyrs, has been critical of NATO and Romania's stance on Ukraine, and
has said the country should engage, not challenge Russia.
He is due to face centrist contender Elena Lasconi in a run-oFF on Dec. 8. Meanwhile a
parliamentary election is scheduled for Sunday.
Analysts expect Georgescu's victory in the first round of the presidential election to
boost the far-right in the parliamentary election.
On Thursday, an AtlasIntel poll obtained by the HotNews website showed the radical
right Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR) in first place with 22.4% of the vote, followed
by the Social Democrats (PSD) on 21.4%.
'HOSTILE ACTIONS'
Romania's Supreme Defence Council, the country's top security body which includes
the president and prime minister alongside relevant defence institutions, said on
Thursday it had evidence of cyber attacks meant to influence the electoral process.
"A presidential candidate benefited from massive exposure through preferential
treatment given to him by the TikTok platform by not labelling him as a political
candidate and not asking him to label electoral content," the council said in a
statement.
It said that Romania was a key target for "hostile actions by state and non-state actors,
especially the Russian Federation".
There was no immediate comment from Russian authorities but Moscow has previously
denied interfering in foreign elections.
A TikTok spokesperson said "it is categorically false to claim his (Georgescu's) account
was treated diFFerently to any other candidate," adding it had removed videos at the
request of Romanian authorities within 24 hours.
Georgescu gained many votes from young voters and Romanians living abroad, and his
campaign relied heavily on TikTok.
On Wednesday, a senior oFFicial at Romania's telecoms regulator called for TikTok to be
suspended pending an investigation into the platform's role in the election.
'BACKSTAGE GAMES'
Lasconi condemned the Constitutional Court's decision in a post on her social media
accounts.
"The Constitutional Court is interfering in the democratic process for the second
time," she wrote, referring to a previous court decision to ban a far-right politician from
running in the presidential election.
"One combats extremism through votes, not backstage games."
Georgescu said in a statement that state institutions were trying to deny people's vote in
Sunday's election.
The decision to call for a recount was made after conservative presidential candidate
Cristian Terhes, who got 1% of the votes on Sunday, challenged the ballot's result.
Terhes has asked that the Court annul the election outcome, alleging that Lasconi got
votes transferred to her from another candidate who had withdrawn from the race but
still appeared on the ballots.
The court postponed a ruling for Nov. 29 and asked for a recount.
The court will only provide the reasoning for its decision in a statement at a later date.
By law, the top court needs to validate the first round result by Nov. 29 for the run-oFF
vote to happen on Dec. 8 as scheduled.
But the head of the country's election authority said recounting 9.46 million votes
currently in archives at courthouses across Romania would take days.
Social Democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu ranked third on Sunday, only 2,740
votes behind runner-up Lasconi.
Many of the top court's nine judges were appointed by the Social Democrat Party.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation