Romanian presidential election rerun kicks off

The previous vote was annulled on grounds of alleged “Russian interference,” with the leading candidate barred from running again.

Romania is holding a rerun of its presidential election on Sunday after the previous vote was annulled on grounds of alleged Russian interference and electoral violations. Moscow has denied all claims of interference.

The annulled election in late November saw independent right-wing candidate Calin Georgescu, known for his NATO-sceptic stance, unexpectedly prevail in the first round with 23% of the vote. However, the Constitutional Court later invalidated the results, citing electoral “irregularities.” The country’s officials claimed that the candidate’s campaign had utilized undeclared funds, and that Russia was behind “hybrid” attacks, including in the cyber realm.

In March, Georgescu was barred by the Central Electoral Bureau from running again, citing his alleged “anti-democratic” and “extremist” stance as well as a failure to comply with electoral procedures.

In the current election, a total of 11 candidates are competing for the presidential post. The key contenders include George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), who is known for his opposition to the EU, and criticism of military support to Ukraine. He is leading the polls with approximately 30% support.

Other prominent candidates include Crin Antonescu, representing the governing Social-Democrat and National Liberal coalition, and Nicusor Dan, the mayor of Bucharest, both of whom support pro-EU agendas.

If no candidate wins an absolute majority, a run-off between the two leading candidates will be held on May 18.

Ahead of the rerun, meanwhile, Romanian detained RT journalist Chay Bowes, who had traveled to Bucharest from Dublin, Ireland, to cover the election. According to the reporter, he was presented with a paper – of which he was not given a copy – alleging that he was “a threat to the security of the state” and therefore should be deported. Bowes, a EU citizen, has insisted that he entered Romania “completely legally… to do [his] job.”

Commenting on the detention, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Romanian election had turned into a “meme.” She added that “the situation around the election in Romania is so scandalous. It’s so dead-ended and it discredits the level of that pseudo democracy in Romania.”