Romanian court orders recount of first-round election won by far-right outsider

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A top Romanian court on Thursday asked the official electoral authority to recount and verify all of the ballots cast in the first round of the presidential election, which was won by a far-right outsider candidate, sending shockwaves through the political establishment.

The Constitutional Court in Bucharest voted unanimously in favor of the recount, and said the decision is final. The Central Election Bureau is expected to meet on Thursday afternoon to discuss the request.

Calin Georgescu, a little-known, far-right populist, won the first round, beating the incumbent prime minister. Georgescu, who ran independently, was due to face reformist Elena Lasconi, the mayor of the town of Campulung, in a Dec. 8. runoff.

Georgescu’s unexpected success has prompted nightly protests by people who are concerned with previous remarks he’s made in praising Romanian fascist and nationalist leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Constitutional Court on Thursday also rejected a request by Sebastian Popescu, a former presidential candidate who got just 0.15% of the vote, to annul the first-round vote. Popescu alleged Georgescu — who declared zero campaign spending — had not disclosed financing linked to a massive TikTok campaign, which many have credited for his success.

Popescu also alleged in his appeal that Georgescu had used widespread disinformation and “defrauded the electoral law by illegally financing the entire electoral campaign, having support from outside the country’s borders, from state entities with the aim of destabilizing Romania.”

Georgescu, who said a network of Romanian volunteers helped his campaign, has denied any wrongdoing. “They want to ban the right of the Romanian people to speak freely,” he told a local news channel Wednesday, adding the first round vote “was perfectly democratic and legitimate.”

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