Romania constitutional court said on Thursday it has rejected a request to annul the results of the May 18 presidential election in which centrist candidate, Bucharest Mayor, Nicusor Dan won the majority of the vote.
The appeal to annul the election results was made by the defeated conservative far-right candidate George Simion who alleged meddling by France and Moldova. Simion denounced the court ruling as a “coup” in a statement on social media and called on his supporters to fight against this decision. Simion, who is Eurosceptic, had previously conceded the defeat but later changed his narrative after Telegram founder Pavel Durov claimed that the head of France’s foreign intelligence agency, DGSE, on Sunday asked him to ban Romania’s conservative voices ahead of the vote. The DGSE denied this claim.
Election authorities had earlier said the election had been well-organized and no violations had been observed. The court’s ruling not to annul the results paved the way for the inauguration of President-elect Nicusor Dan next week. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Dan pledged to maintain Romani’s pro-Western foreign policy. His election victory has been welcomed by Romania’s western allies and investors.
It should be noted that Romania’s presidential election in November last year was annulled by the court ruling after concerns of Russian meddling and social media campaign that ensured the victory of far-right candidate Calin Georgescu who was banned from running for presidency.
