The Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election results due to foreign meddling, prompting President Klaus Iohannis to assure the country, the EU, and NATO of its continued stability on Friday evening.
The Romanian Constitutional Court’s decision to annul the results of presidential elections was legitimate and needs to be respected, President Klaus Iohannis said in an address on Friday evening.
Just hours after the ruling was made public, sending shockwaves through Romanian society, Iohannis explained that the decision came after serious consideration was given to potential foreign meddling in the surprise victory by the previously unknown far-right nationalist candidate, Călin Georgescu.
“Following the elections, I started receiving notes from intelligence services about some strange things,” Iohannis said.
“I received the reports, and I was very worried about what I read, so I convened the Romanian National Security Council,” he explained. “The conclusions were grave.”
According to the Romanian president, it became apparent that Georgescu benefitted from what Iohannis labelled “massive illegal election support” despite declaring “zero spending on his election campaign even if he conducted a sophisticated one.”
“I received information from services that this candidate was illegally supported by a foreign country, which constitutes a national security matter,” he said.
Georgescu ran a successful campaign on the social media platform TikTok. His popularity exploded in the weeks before the vote, with the candidate gaining tens of millions of views days before the first round, earning him the moniker TikTok Messiah.
‘Romania is a safe, solid country’
Iohannis’ words confirmed what was known from bombshell declassified information from Romania’s intelligence agencies revealed on Wednesday, which stated that Georgescu’s win was “not a natural outcome” and that a coordinated social media campaign by a “state actor” artificially propped up his victory.
The documents showed a pre-organised sleeper network suddenly became active on the app two weeks before the election.
Romanian intelligence concluded that the network used methods typical of a state actor in recruiting and coordinating with others through the messaging platform Telegram.
The documents also found that almost €1 million was spent during the campaign by an individual who supported Georgescu’s candidacy, with up to €950 paid for a repost on the app.
Georgescu, who raised many eyebrows with his fringe beliefs and statements in support of Romanian World War II Nazi collaborationist leaders, claimed he had no campaign budget and was helped through volunteers.
Meanwhile, Iohannis — whose mandate was set to end on 21 December — assured Romanians that stability will be retained, with him remaining in office until his successor is lawfully elected.
“According to the Romanian constitution, the president continues his mandate until the new president takes his oath. So when the new president will be invested, that is when I leave as president,” he stated.
“I will continue working for a democratic, free, modern, safe, European Romania,” Iohannis said.
ADVERTISEMENT“Romania is a stable, solid and safe country. I say this for the economy, investments, markets. I say this to the European Union: Romania is and remains a safe, solid country. I say this to NATO: Romania is a safe, solid country. Romania is not in difficulty,” he concluded.
The new government, set to be formed by an alliance of pro-EU parties following the parliamentary election last Sunday, will decide the new dates for the two rounds of the presidential elections.