Romania’s top court has annulled the results of the first round of the country’s presidential election after claims of Russian interference.
The unprecedented decision came after declassified intelligence documents alleged Russia was behind a campaign to promote far-right candidate Calin Georgescu on platforms such as TikTok and Telegram.
Mr Georgescu was viewed as an outsider in the race and had not declared any campaign spending, but emerged as the frontrunner following the first round on 24 November.
He was due to face pro-EU Elena Lasconi, of the Save Romania Union party, in a run-off on Sunday.
The Constitutional Court said in a statement it “annuls the entire electoral process regarding the election of the president of Romania”.
“The government will establish a new date for the election… as well as a new calendar program for carrying out the necessary actions,” it added.
Ms Lasconi criticised the court’s decision, arguing the vote should have continued and respected the will of the Romanian people.
While “Russian propaganda” is a “serious problem”, she said the consequences should be dealt with after free elections.
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The leader of the hard-right party Alliance for Uniting Romanians, George Simion, described the court ruling as a “coup d’etat”, accusing judges of being “scared” of a candidate “outside the system”.
The initial result had threatened the country’s pro-Ukraine stance, with Mr Georgescu refusing to explicitly say whether he supports Russia.
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Calin Georgescu spoke to Sky News on Thursday
He has previously said Romania – a member of NATO and the European Union – has its best chances with “Russian wisdom”.
Speaking to Sky News on Thursday, Mr Georgescu – who does not believe in COVID or man-made climate change – said accusations his sudden rise to success has been orchestrated by Russia were not true.
Read more:
Candidate Georgescu denies links to Russia
How far-right candidate’s TikTok rocked election
The president serves a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in areas including defence spending, national security and foreign policy.
Far-right parties also performed well in last Sunday’s parliamentary election, though the ruling Social Democrats came out as the largest faction and hope to form a pro-EU coalition government.
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The court has not questioned the integrity of the parliamentary vote.