Romania’s Supreme Court has annulled the first round of the presidential elections and ordered a repeat of the entire electoral process. The decision followed the review of classified state documents indicating that Romania was subjected to a “targeted attack” by Russia via social media, which allegedly influenced the election outcome.
In the first round, far-right pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu led with 22.94%, despite previously polling in single digits. He was set to face pro-European centrist Elena Lasconi, who secured 19.18%, in the second round originally scheduled for this Sunday. A Georgescu victory would have marked a shift away from the pro-Western policies of the EU and NATO member state.
Russia allegedly carried out a campaign to promote C. Georgescu using thousands of accounts on social media platforms like TikTok and Telegram.
A classified document from Romania’s intelligence service reported that Georgescu was extensively promoted on TikTok through coordinated accounts and paid advertisements. However, Georgescu claimed he spent no money on his election campaign.
The intelligence service also noted that access credentials for official Romanian election websites were published on Russian cybercrime platforms and reported identifying over 85,000 online attacks.
What is fyi.news?
