Bucharest (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Thursday, Romania’s Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed a request to annul the presidential election held on May 18, which was won by Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan.
George Simion, Romania’s hard-right candidate who led the first voting round on May 4, requested an investigation into alleged interference by France and Moldova.
Why did Romania’s court reject Simion’s appeal?
Election officials and independent monitors have reported that the election was conducted smoothly. The Constitutional Court, stating that Simion’s challenge lacks merit, is set to officially confirm the election results on Thursday, with Dan present.
How did past Russian meddling affect this vote?
Six months ago, the court annulled Romania’s original presidential election due to concerns about Russian meddling that favoured far-right candidate Calin Georgescu, who has since been prohibited from participating in the new election.
The subsequent institutional crisis, highlighted by the collapse of the Social Democrat-led government, hindered attempts to lower Romania’s budget deficit—the highest in the European Union—and unsettled financial markets.
Romania’s European partners and investors celebrated Dan’s presidential election win against eurosceptic Simion, who labelled last year’s initial ballot cancellation a “coup” and succeeded Georgescu in leadership.
What interference claims did Simion make post-election?
Simion had previously acknowledged his defeat, despite initially claiming victory. He subsequently turned to Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, who accused the head of France’s foreign intelligence agency of requesting a ban on Romanian conservative voices before the elections during Sunday’s ballot. France’s DGSE foreign spy agency denied the accusation.
“The Constitutional Court has continued the coup d’etat by rejecting our appeal,”
Simion said on social media on Thursday, reacting to the verdict. “The only thing left for us is to keep fighting.”
What does President-elect Dan say?
President-elect Dan is set to be sworn in next Monday, after which he will confront the challenging responsibility of appointing a prime minister who can secure a ruling majority in a divided parliament.
“It is certain that Romania will keep its pro-Western direction,”
Dan stated at a security conference on Thursday.
“Romania has not engaged enough in any of these organisations (EU, NATO), but to engage effectively, it needs credibility. Romania must bolster its strength and increase its involvement.”
Simion had aimed to terminate military assistance to neighbouring Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia.
