European Rights Court Refuses To Halt Annulment Of Romanian Election
By Marian Chiriac
The European Court of Human Rights, ECHR in Strasbourg on Tuesday ruled against Romanian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu’s request for it to suspend the Romanian Constitutional Court’s decision to annul November’s presidential elections and order a rerun.
The ECHR said it had rejected Georgescu’s request for an urgent ruling because the matter “fell outside of the scope” of the court’s competence.
The decision means the annulment remains in effect while Georgescu’s case is considered in full by the ECHR.
Georgescu, a populist politician known for his anti-NATO and pro-Russia stance, won the first round of presidential polls on November 24. His victory signalled that EU-member Romania risked joining the region’s growing trend toward far-right populism.
Had he won the presidency – which has oversight of foreign policy and defence – it would have thrown into doubt Romania’s continued support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and marked a shift in the country’s geopolitical trajectory.
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”, likely referring to Russia.
The Constitutional Court said it annulled “the entire electoral process concerning the election of the president of Romania”, as the procedures for a free vote had not been upheld.
In his complaint to the ECHR, Georgescu sought to compel Romania’s authorities to organise a second round of voting against pro-Western rival Elena Lasconi, claiming violations of his right to free elections and a fair trial due to the annulment process
Prior to the ECHR’s decision, Georgescu’s appeals to Romanian courts were unsuccessful.
Early this month, the centrist and centre-left parties in Romania’s ruling coalition agreed to hold the presidential election on May 4, with a potential run-off scheduled for two weeks later.
Georgescu has announced he will run again and currently leads in the polls, although the credibility of these surveys has been questioned following his unexpected victory last time.
