Recount order, TikTok ‘preferential treatment’ claims throw Romania’s election into chaos

BUCHAREST - Romania’s presidential election was thrown into chaos on Nov 28 as a court ordered a recount of first-round results and security officials alleged that interference via TikTok had boosted a little-known far-right candidate.

The moves came as the country braces for legislative polls plus a run-off vote between a far-right admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a pro-European centrist contender.

The Romanian presidency said security officials had detected “cyberattacks” intended to influence the outcome of the Nov 24 vote, which saw far-right candidate Calin Georgescu secure an unexpected first-round win.

Mr Georgescu knocked Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu out of the race, setting up a second-round standoff on Dec 8 with centrist Elena Lasconi, who placed second.

Another far-right candidate, meanwhile, went after Ms Lasconi, securing an order from the constitutional court on Nov 28 for the first-round votes to be recounted.

The unsuccessful far-right candidate, EU parliament member Cristian Terhes, accused Ms Lasconi’s Union Save Romania (USR) party of continuing to campaign online after the legal deadline.

In response, the constitutional court unanimously ordered a “re-verification and recount of all ballots” from the Nov 24 vote, it said in a statement.

The court, meanwhile, rejected a separate request by another presidential candidate to annul the first round of the vote, ruling that the demand came too late.

The constitutional court is due to reconvene on Nov 29 at 2pm (8pm in Singapore).

TikTok election boost

Barely known outside Romania, Mr Georgescu’s popularity was allegedly boosted by viral TikTok campaigns calling for an end to aid for neighbouring Ukraine in its war with Russia and sounding a sceptical note on Nato.

On Nov 28, a top Romanian security body said Mr Georgescu was granted “preferential treatment” by social media platform TikTok that it said led to his “massive exposure”.

In the statement, the Supreme Council of National Defence demanded authorities “urgently take the necessary steps” to shed light on the matter.

Mr Georgescu rejected the claim, insisting in a statement that opponents “are trying... to eliminate the Romanian people’s ability to think and choose according to their own moral, Christian and democratic principles”.

He added: “Attempts are being made to attribute a real election result to any institution, including TikTok, but none of the media and current politicians attribute real credibility to the Romanian people.”

The defence council also said officials had detected “cyberattacks aimed at influencing the correctness of the electoral process” in the Nov 24 vote.

It reported “a growing interest” on the part of Russia “to influence the public agenda in Romanian society”.

On Nov 27, the European Commission said it had received a request from Romania’s media regulator to open “a formal investigation into TikTok’s role in the Romanian elections” under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).

“If the Commission suspects a breach... it can open proceedings to look into TikTok’s compliance with the DSA obligations,” the Commission said in a statement.

‘Unprecedented’

Under Romanian law, an election can be annulled if “fraud of such a nature as to alter the allocation of the mandate or... the order of the candidates eligible to participate in the second round of voting” is discovered.

“It’s an unprecedented situation” since the fall of communism and the transition to democracy in 1989, former constitutional court judge Augustin Zegrean told Romanian channel Digi24.

“Things can take... a very bad and unfavourable direction,” he said, as the electoral timetable is very tight.

The country holds parliamentary elections on Sunday, with the presidential runoff to follow a week later, amid fears they could herald a shift in its foreign policy.

Ms Lasconi, who entered the runoff by a narrow margin of some 2,700 votes, denounced the recount announcement.

“The Constitutional Court is playing with national security,” she said in a statement, adding that what it was “now trying to do is absolutely appalling for a democratic country”.

“Extremism is fought through voting, not backroom games,” she added. AFP