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2024 General Elections

Romania’s ruling coalition reportedly agreed on February 27 to schedule the two presidential election ballots on September 15 and 29 – more than two months before the term of president Klaus Iohannis ended in December, Digi24 announced, quoting sources familiar with the negotiations. The parliamentary elections would be organized later in December, as the Social Democrats and Liberals had previously agreed. After the decision agreed upon by the ruling coalition, the date of the presidential elections is to be validated by the leadership of the National Liberal Party. The Social Democrats have already validated the calendar of the early presidential elections in September.

Romania is a constitutional republic with a democratic, multiparty parliamentary system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, both elected by popular vote. Observers considered the November 2019 presidential election and December 2020 parliamentary elections to have been generally free and fair.

Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; widespread serious official corruption; lack of investigation and accountability for gender-based violence, including but not limited to domestic and intimate partner violence and sexual violence; and abuses targeting institutionalized persons with disabilities.

The government took steps to identify, investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed abuses, but authorities did not have effective mechanisms to do so and delayed proceedings involving alleged police abuse and corruption, with the result that many of the cases ended in acquittals. Impunity for perpetrators of some human rights abuses was a continuing problem. Impunity was a significant problem in the security forces, particularly among police and gendarmerie. Police officers were frequently exonerated in cases of alleged beatings and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

In July 2022 military prosecutors resubmitted an indictment against former President Ion Iliescu and former Vice Prime Minister Gelu Voican Voiculescu for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the 1989 Romanian Revolution. The High Court of Cassation and Justice previously dismissed the indictment and returned the case to the Military Prosecutor’s Office in 2021 because it included several irregularities. The case was pending before the High Court of Cassation and Justice as of year’s end 2022.

The constitution provides for freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media, and the government partially respected this right. Independent media organizations noted excessive politicization of media, corrupt financing mechanisms, as well as editorial policies subordinated to political parties and owners’ interests. Reporters and civil society representatives said their freedom of expression was also limited by restricted access to information of public interest issued by the government and public institutions, including expenses, contracts or bids involving public funds, and the academic records of public officials. Reporters and NGOs often had to sue state-controlled ministries, agencies, or local entities to access public information. Some reporters throughout the country continued to be harassed, sued, or threatened by authorities whom they investigated or by their proxies.

According to Radio Free Europe, in the first seven months of the year, the two main ruling political parties, the Social Democrat Party and the National Liberal Party, spent together more than €10 million ($10.7 million) in contracts with specific media outlets that carried mainly progovernment coverage and avoided topics of public interest that would have embarrassed the government. In most of the cases, the reporting did not mention that it represented political advertising. Independent media reported that such practices were used during the year, as well as in 2021, and that the government allegedly spent more than €12 million ($12.84 million) on undisclosed media expenses in the entire year 2021.

In June, private TV station Digi24 fired popular analyst Cristian Tudor Popescu after he criticized ruling politicians over leaked drafts of new national security laws. Popescu claimed that the proposed laws could have given the Romanian Intelligence Service the equivalent powers of the Communist-era intelligence services.

25 November 2024

The Presidential campaign was marked by controversy and personal attacks, with Simion, who came fourth, facing accusations of meeting with Russian spies—a claim he has denied. Ciolacu had been criticised for his use of private jets. The stakes were high for Romania, which has a 650-kilometre (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has become more important since Russia invaded its neighbour in 2022. The Black Sea nation played a “vital strategic role” for NATO—as it is a base for more than 5,000 soldiers—and the transit of Ukrainian grain, the New Strategy Center think tank said.

There is no other example in the history of politics where a candidate has risen from 5% support to 22% in just two weeks. In a surprise outcome in the first round of Romania's presidential election, an obscure hard-right candidate, Calin Georgescu, came first with 22.9 percent of the vote 25 November 2024 while Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, favoured to win the poll, was knocked out of the race. The result is a political earthquake in the country of 19 million, a NATO member which has so far resisted nationalist appeals, setting itself apart from neighbours Hungary and Slovakia. Far-right candidate Calin Georgescu was in pole position with 22.94 percent of the ballot, followed by the little-known Elena Lasconi, the centre-right mayor of a small town.

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu was in third place with 19.15 percent of the ballot in Sunday’s election after 99 percent of the vote was counted, eliminating him from the December 8 run off. Ciolacu said 25 Novembe 20224 he will not challenge the results of the presidential election, and has announced his resignation as chairman of the Social Democratic Party after his defeat. Ciolacu’s Social Democrat party had shaped Romania’s politics for more than three decades. But with concerns mounting over inflation and the war in neighbouring Ukraine, the far right had appeared to be gaining ground ahead of the vote.

Exit polls in the race for the largely ceremonial post initially had shown the premier with a comfortable lead and put another far-right candidate, George Simion, in second. Georgescu surged in recent days with a viral TikTok campaign calling for an end to aid for Ukraine. He has also sounded a sceptical note on Romania’s NATO membership. “Tonight, the Romanian people cried out for peace. And they shouted very loudly, extremely loudly,” he said. Georgescu's first-round win rocked the strategically important country which has so far resisted nationalist rhetoric that has gained traction in Hungary and Slovakia.

A senior official at Romania's telecoms watchdog on 27 November 2024 called for TikTok to be suspended pending an investigation into the platform's possible role in the surprise victory of a far-right candidate in the first round of its presidential election. Romanian officials are also set to meet over possible cyber threats to its elections. Far-right pro-Russia candidate Calin Georgescu secured a surprise lead in the presidential election – knocking out Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu – with many questioning the role of social media in his shock surge.

Romania's Supreme Council of National Defence will analyse "possible risks to national security ... by state and non-state cyber actors" on the IT and communication infrastructure involved in the electoral process, the country's presidency said. Barely known outside Romania, Georgescu's popularity seems to have been boosted by viral TikTok campaigns calling for an end to aid for neighbouring Ukraine and sounding a sceptical note on NATO.

The move came days before Romania held high-stakes parliamentary elections on Sunday, with the presidential runoff to follow on December 8, amid fears they could herald a shift in its foreign policy.

The European Commission confirmed it had received a request from Romania's media regulator to open "a formal investigation into TikTok's role in the Romanian elections" under its social media law known as the Digital Services Act (DSA). As TikTok is considered a "very large online platform" under the DSA, it "has the obligation to assess and mitigate systemic risks related to electoral processes, including national elections," Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said in a statement.

Romania's presidential election was thrown into chaos 28 November 2024 as a court ordered a recount of first-round results and security officials alleged that interference via TikTok had boosted a little-known far-right candidate. The Romanian presidency said security officials had detected "cyberattacks" intended to influence the outcome of the vote.

Georgescu in various interviews and social media posts called the hosting of the U.S. missile defense system a “diplomatic disgrace,” praised Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN and said the war in Ukraine is being “manipulated in the interest of starting a conflict that will financially help the U.S. military-industrial complex.” His campaign from relative obscurity to presidential frontrunner was fueled by a massive surge in following on TikTok, in a campaign that Romanian security officials now say bears the hallmarks of a Russian influence operation.

Romania's acting president, Klaus Iohannis, announced 04 December 2024 that he had agreed to the declassification of documents presented by the intelligence services in the CSAT meeting, in connection with Calin Georgescu's campaign. The documents show the huge network of TikTok accounts that was activated 2 weeks before the election, as well as Georgescu's financiers and supporters.

The Exterior Information Service reported 28 November 2024 "Russia has a history of interfering in electoral processes in other states. If in the ex-Soviet space Russia was and is quasi-present through hostile actions of influence, in the West, the involvement has become much more evident since 2016 in the US presidential elections. Russia's interest in such a situation. hostile actions directed against the West has increased in intensity, with an increasingly complex modus operandi, with a very large share of actions being carried out online...

" In the Kremlin's view, the European far right is receptive to Moscow and is on an upward trend in popularity. Russia has flooded the information space with divisive narratives and support vectors (people or political formations) with visions close to the Kremlin (extremists, nationalists, populists, anti-establishment political figures, etc.)....

"The scheme of dissemination / amplification of messages remained decentralized: local pro-Russian satellites, clones of reputable websites, accounts/channels and troll networks on social media platforms... the messages sent on Telegram, Facebook, Istanbul, TikTok and VKontakte are coordinated and uniform.

Romania is perceived by the decision-makers in Moscow as an enemy state ("unfriend"), and according to our data, Moscow adopts a policy of active deterrence towards Romania.... Romania - along with other states on NATO's Eastern Flank - has become a priority for Russia's hostile actions, with a growing interest in the Kremlin to influence (at least) the MOOCL and agenda in Romanian society in the electoral context by: propaganda and disinformation (including through the use of emerging technologies in activities targeted at specific groups and communities - e.g. by aggregating publicly available data - e.g. political, economic and consumer preferences and the implementation of generative artificial intelligence modules through which they can transmit tailored, real-time propaganda messages'. at the individual level...

"Note that during this year, the political situation in Romania was also addressed during the political talk shows in Russia. Russian journalists launch the idea that pro-Russian forces in Romania could have obtained over 30% in the parliamentary elections."

Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election results after it was found that independent candidate Calin Georgescu received illegal campaign contributions, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said. He said in a press statement that after the results of the parliamentary elections are endorsed, the country’s new government "will decide on the new parameters for the two rounds [of the presidential election]." According to Iohannis, he will stay in office "until the new president is sworn in," as per the country’s constitution. Everything is stable in Romania, and the country "has no problems," he stressed. Documents surfaced that Georgescu had illegally financed his election campaign. The findings also pointed to hacker attacks on the electoral digital infrastructure, and alleged "hybrid actions" by Russia against Romania.

Digital content expert Cristian Bolocan said that, although there is a preconception that this platform is mainly used by young people, statistics show that the predominant audience is actually mature, over 35 years old. According to the expert, the algorithm reacts to the message that generates emotion, so the important element is the emotional aspect. "Tik-Tok is like a TV channel that learns what shows we like," said Cristian Bolocan

The expert explained that although Tik-Tok has "the most sophisticated algorithm", in reality, "fairly simple things" were exploited and "clear messages were transmitted, which allowed for their rapid viralization."

"We are talking about a vulnerability of the algorithm and, at the same time, about a fairly simple component. (...) The youth were reached by messages about change and anti-system, while the mature audience was influenced by appeals to tradition and sovereignty, and at the same time, behind this strategy, we are talking about a polarizing content strategy that led users to debate somehow in the comment sections.

01 December 2024

Romania's ruling Social Democratic Party was in the lead with 26% of the vote in the country's parliamentary elections, according to exit polls. The far-right was also expected to make gains. Exit polls showed the PSD with 26% of the vote, ahead of the hard-right Alliance for the Unification of Romania (AUR) on 19%. However, all the far-right parties made large gains. Their combined result was around 30%, indicating a fragmented parliament.

Commenting on the exit polls, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, a Social Democrat, said voters had confirmed they wanted investment to continue. If the exit polls are confirmed by official results, a pro-Western coalition led by the PSD is likely to have enough seats in parliament to form a government. However, the exit polls do not include the votes of the hundreds of thousands of Romanians working abroad, who are expected to favor far-right groups and a centrist opposition.

08 December 2024

the country's parliamentary vote was the second of three consecutive elections for a new parliament and president, after the first round presidential election a week ago saw independent far-right candidate Calin Georgescu emerge from relative obscurity as the front-runner. The parliamentary elections took place against the backdrop of a recount of the first round of the presidential election, following Georgescu's surprise victory. The recount was ordered by the Constitutional Court amid allegations of irregularities and possible interference in the election. The court was expected to decide whether the runoff between Georgescu and reformist Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union (USR) will go ahead as planned on December 8. Who gets to form the government will depend on who wins the presidential election, as the president appoints a prime minister, and the timetable for doing so was unclear.

The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, agreed 04 December 2024 to the declassification, according to the law, at the request of the issuing institutions, of the information presented by the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs during the meeting of the Supreme Council for National Defense, on November 28, 2024.

The judges of the Constitutional Court decided on 06 December 2024 to annul the presidential elections. It is an unprecedented decision. According to sources at the Constitutional Court, "new elements" emerged showing that the presidential election of November 24 was flawed. the judges decided to annul the entire electoral process regarding the election of the president. "The electoral process will be resumed in its entirety, with the Government to set a new date for the election of the President of Romania."