Romanians are set to vote for a new president in May after the previous election, in which a populist right-winger took a shock lead, was annulled due to alleged manipulation of public opinion by a “foreign state”.
The centrist and centre-left parties in Romania’s ruling coalition agreed on Wednesday to hold the country’s presidential election on May 4, with a potential run-off scheduled for two weeks later.
The date is later than initially expected, with analysts suggesting that the governing parties aim to use the additional time to identify and prepare a strong joint candidate to fight off a far-right challenge for the presidency.
The ruling coalition, which brings together leftist Social Democrats (PSD), centrist National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), have agreed to support a single candidate in a unified effort to block a representative of the radical right from securing victory.
Right-wing parties, which control around a third of the seats in parliament, together with the centrist, pro-EU Save Romania Union party, are not supporting the current government.
This upcoming vote follows the unprecedented annulment of the previous presidential election by the Constitutional Court.
The move came after Calin Georgescu, a populist politician known for his NATO-sceptic and pro-Russia stance, won the first round on November 24. His victory signalled that EU member Romania was joining the region’s growing trend toward far-right populism.
Georgescu’s surprise win led Romania’s top court, on December 3, to order a complete re-run of the election, citing alleged manipulation of public opinion by a “foreign state”, probably referring to Russia.
The Constitutional Court said it was annulling “the entire electoral process concerning the election of the president of Romania”, as the procedures for a free vote had not been upheld.
Georgescu ran as an independent with little mainstream media coverage and a campaign focused almost exclusively on TikTok, yet he defied opinion polls to come out on top with 23 per cent of the vote.
Had the court not annulled the vote, Georgescu would have contested a run-off with Elena Lasconi, leader of the centrist, pro-EU Save Romania Unity party.
Had he won the presidency – which has oversight of foreign and defence policy – it would have thrown into doubt Romania’s continued support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and marked a significant shift in the country’s geopolitical trajectory.
Georgescu is now contesting the Constitutional Court’s decision by taking legal action at the European Court of Human Rights, seeking to suspend the annulment and restore the process. He is demanding a second-round run-off election against his opponent, Elena Lasconi, claiming his right to free elections was violated.
The situation has stirred up significant controversy in Romania, raising questions about electoral integrity and foreign influence in national politics.
