In a historic and unprecedented decision, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of its presidential election due to allegations of Russian interference. The court’s ruling came after declassified documents were released, revealing a pro-Russian influence campaign on the social media platform TikTok. A network of 25,000 accounts was used to promote Călin Georgescu, one of the presidential candidates, in what appeared to be a coordinated attempt to sway the vote. As a result of the court’s decision, the second round of voting, which had been scheduled for December 8, 2024, will no longer take place.
The court’s decision emphasized the need to ensure the fairness and legality of Romania’s electoral process, particularly in light of the foreign influence allegations. In a statement, the judiciary body explained that the government would establish a new date for the election, effectively restarting the entire presidential race. This move comes amid growing concerns over the security and integrity of elections worldwide, as cyber threats and foreign interference continue to evolve.
Adding to the complexity of the situation, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) disclosed that the country had been the target of over 85,000 cyber intrusion attempts before and during the first round of the election. These attacks, aimed at accessing election websites and IT systems, were attributed to state-sponsored actors, reinforcing the suspicion that Russia played a role in the interference. The SRI’s findings underscore the growing threat of cyberattacks targeting democratic processes and raise questions about how to safeguard elections in the digital age.
Internationally, the European Commission has stepped up its scrutiny of TikTok, urging the platform to preserve data related to the election and take measures to prevent coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB). TikTok itself reported having dismantled several small-scale influence campaigns during the election period, including two clusters targeting both Georgescu and independent candidate Mircea Geoană. With this heightened attention, there is now increased pressure on social media platforms to take responsibility for preventing foreign interference in electoral processes.
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