Constitutional court cancels Romanian presidential elections over Russian interference allegations

Constitutional Court annuls presidential elections two days before runoff between Elena Lasconi and Călin Georgescu. Process to restart amid Russian interference allegations

The Romanian Constitutional Court (CCR) unanimously decided on Friday to annul the presidential elections, according to an official CCR press release. G4Media was the first to report the information, citing official sources. The electoral process to elect Romania’s president will restart from scratch, with the government tasked with setting a new date.

This means that the elections will be reset entirely, requiring candidates to re-register and go through the validation process again with the Central Electoral Bureau.

„Under Article 146, letter f of the Constitution, the entire electoral process concerning the election of the President of Romania is annulled,” the press release states. Article 146, letter f specifies that the Constitutional Court ensures compliance with the procedures for electing the President of Romania and confirms the election results.

The decision to annul the elections follows the declassification of intelligence reports from Romanian secret services, which pointed to Russian interference in the electoral process.

G4Media reported on the decision minutes before the official announcement, citing official sources.

At the same time, voting for Romanians abroad was ongoing.

Updates in Progress

The Constitutional Court judges convened Friday morning, took a break at 2:35 PM, and resumed their session at 3:00 PM.

On Thursday and Friday, the CCR received several requests to annul the elections.

When asked about a potential annulment of the first round, Elena Lasconi (journalist and candidate) said Friday on Radio România Actualități, „If the first round were to be annulled, it would cause unbearable social tension. Let’s allow the Romanians to choose.”

Context

The Romanian Constitutional Court announced on Thursday that the requests to annul the first round of the presidential elections would be reviewed as part of the election validation process.

„Considering media inquiries about petitions and requests related to the conduct of the presidential elections in Romania, the Constitutional Court clarifies that these have been registered and will be examined under constitutional and legal provisions during the validation process,” CCR stated in a press release distributed by AGERPRES (Romania’s national news agency).

The statement also noted that, during this stage of the electoral process, the court can review complaints submitted by candidates who advanced to the second round of the presidential elections.

The Constitutional Court received four complaints on Thursday requesting the annulment of the first-round election results.

The complaints were filed by the National School of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA), the National Institute for the Study of Totalitarianism, the publication Calea Europeană (European Path), and independent candidate Cristian Terheș.

More updates to follow.