Romania votes in parliamentary election amid claims of Russian interference

 

Romania votes in parliamentary election amid claims of Russian interference

 

Success in presidential poll of far-right populist Călin Georgescu has triggered nightly protests across country

 

Associated Press in Bucharest

Sun 1 Dec 2024 03.48 EST

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/01/romania-votes-in-parliamentary-election-amid-claims-of-russian-interference-calin-georgescu

 

Romanians are casting ballots in a parliamentary election sandwiched between a two-round presidential race that has plunged the European Union and Nato member country into unprecedented turmoil after allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference.

 

Sunday’s vote will elect a new government and prime minister and determine the formation of the country’s 466-seat legislature. Romanians who are abroad have been able to vote since Saturday.

 

The legislative vote comes a week after the first round of a presidential race in which a controversial far-right populist who had been polling in single digits won the most votes. Călin Georgescu, 62, is due to face the reformist Elena Lasconi, of the Save Romania Union party or USR, in a runoff on 8 December.

 

Georgescu’s success, which many have attributed to his rapid rise in popularity on the social media platform TikTok, has triggered nightly protests throughout Romania by those who oppose his past remarks praising Romanian fascist leaders and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and view him as a threat to democracy.

 

Many observers believe the presidential outcome indicates a sharp shift from Romania’s mainstream parties to more populist anti-establishment parties, whose voices have found fertile ground amid high inflation, high cost of living and a sluggish economy.

 

Alexandru Rizescu, a 24-year-old medical student, says he was surprised by the result in the first-round presidential ballot and that it was an “obvious sign” Europe at large was shifting towards far-right populism.

 

“Most of us are sick of these big parties, but now we have to think about the … lesser evil,” he said. “If Georgescu becomes president, with a favourable parliament, it’s going to be wild.”

 

According to a report by Expert Forum, a Bucharest-based thinktank, there was an explosion of engagement on Georgescu’s TikTok account before last week’s vote, which it said appeared “sudden and artificial, similar to his polling results”.

 

Without naming Georgescu, who declared zero campaign spending, Romania’s top defence body said on Thursday that “a presidential candidate benefited from massive exposure due to preferential treatment” granted by TikTok. Romania has become a “priority target for hostile actions” by Russia, it added. The Kremlin denies it is meddling.

 

The same day, the country’s constitutional court requested a recount of all 9.4m votes after a presidential candidate who obtained 1% filed a complaint alleging the USR had violated electoral laws against campaign activities on polling day. The central election bureau approved the request and said scanned reports were due to be sent in by Sunday night. On Friday, the court postponed a decision until Monday on whether to annul the vote.

 

Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, said Sunday’s ballot could be reshaped by Georgescu’s success, with far-right parties possibly obtaining record highs.

 

“The impact of the surprise in last Sunday’s presidential election will be significant, and we are going to wake up in a new political reality,” he told the Associated Press. “Georgescu voters will speak again and will reshape how we look at the political Romanian spectrum from now on and probably forever.”

 

“We are going to wake up on Monday in a new political reality in Romania,” he added. “The most probable scenario will be a difficult-to-build majority in the parliament to support and endorse a new government.”

 

Despite the two main opposition parties – which have dominated post-communist politics in Romania – the Social Democratic party (PSD), and the National Liberal Party (PNL), formed an unlikely coalition in 2021 that has become increasingly strained. A small ethnic Hungarian party exited the cabinet last year after a power-sharing dispute.

 

While the presidential role in Romania has significant decision-making powers in areas such as national security and foreign policy, the prime minister is the head of the nation’s government.

 

Recent surveys have suggested the top three parties in Sunday’s race will be the PSD, the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians and the PNL. After rising to the political scene eight years ago on an anti-corruption ticket, the USR’s popularity has diminished in recent years, but could garner the next most votes.

 

More minor parties that may not pass the 5% threshold to enter parliament include the pro-EU reformist REPER party and the liberal-conservative Force of the Right. Some have predicted that the far-right nationalist SOS Romania party, and the recently formed and little-known party of Young People, which has backed Georgescu, could pass the threshold.