Romanian court orders recount of first-round election won by far-right outsider

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A top Romanian court on Thursday asked the official electoral authority to recount and verify all of the ballots cast in the first round of the presidential election, which was won by a far-right outsider candidate, sending shockwaves through the political establishment.

The Constitutional Court, or CCR, in Bucharest voted unanimously in favor of the recounting the more than 9.4 million ballots, and said the decision is final. The Central Election Bureau is expected to meet on Thursday afternoon to discuss the request.

Calin Georgescu, a little-known, far-right populist, won the first round, beating the incumbent prime minister. Georgescu, who ran independently, was due to face reformist Elena Lasconi, the leader of the Save Romania Union party, or USR, in a Dec. 8. runoff.

Georgescu's unexpected success has prompted nightly protests by people who are concerned with previous remarks he's made in praising Romanian fascist and nationalist leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and believe he poses a threat to democracy.

The vote recount was prompted by a complaint made by Cristian Terhes, a former presidential candidate of the Romanian National Conservative Party who obtained 1% of the vote, who alleged that the USR had urged people to vote before some diaspora polls had closed on Sunday, saying it violated electoral laws against campaign activities on polling day.

After the CCR's ruling, Terhes' press office said in a statement on Facebook that the court ordered the recount “due to indications of fraud,” and alleged Terhes had “presented evidence suggesting” that valid votes cast for Ludovic Orban — who had dropped out of the race but remained on the ballot — had been reassigned to Lasconi.

It is the first time in Romania’s 35-year post-communist history that the country’s most powerful party, the PSD, didn’t have a candidate in the second round of a presidential race. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu resigned as PSD party leader after he narrowly lost to Lasconi by just 2,740 votes.

Lasconi criticized the CCR's decision, saying “Extremism is fought by voting, not backstage games."

“What the CCR is trying to do now is absolutely horrific for a democratic country,” she said. “I am here to defend democracy and call on the Central Election Bureau to handle the vote recount wisely. The law must be the same for all, not interpreted differently for some.”

Lasconi, a former journalist, had told The Associated Press ahead of the first-round vote that she saw corruption as one of Romania’s biggest issues and vowed to tackle it.

“Romania deserves better, not a group of old politicians who use institutions strictly for their personal interest!” Lasconi added in her Thursday statement.

The CCR on Thursday also rejected a request by another unsuccessful first-round candidate, Sebastian Popescu, to annul the ballot.

Popescu alleged Georgescu — who declared zero campaign spending — had not disclosed financing linked to a massive TikTok campaign, which many have credited for his success.

Popescu, who got 0.15% in the first round, also alleged in his appeal that Georgescu had used widespread disinformation and “defrauded the electoral law by illegally financing the entire electoral campaign, having support from outside the country’s borders, from state entities with the aim of destabilizing Romania.”

Georgescu’s account on the Chinese platform TikTok, which has amassed 5.1 million likes and 450,000 followers, gained huge traction in recent weeks. Expert Forum, a Bucharest-based think tank, said in a report that the rapid rise “appears sudden and artificial, similar to his polling results.”

The most visible theme on Georgescu’s TikTok in the last two months “is peace, more precisely the need for Romania to stop supporting Ukraine in order not to involve Romania in war,” the report stated.

Romania’s National Audiovisual Council asked the European Commission this week to investigate TikTok’s role in the Nov. 24 vote. Pavel Popescu, the vice president of Romania’s media regulator Ancom, said he would request TikTok’s suspension on Thursday in Romania if investigations find evidence of “manipulation of the electoral process.”

The AP emailed TikTok’s spokesperson on Thursday asking whether an internal investigation is being carried out into any alleged dubious activity, but did not yet receive a response.

Georgescu, who said a network of Romanian volunteers helped his campaign, has denied any wrongdoing. “They want to ban the right of the Romanian people to speak freely,” he told a local news channel Wednesday, adding the first-round vote “was perfectly democratic and legitimate.”

A gavel sits on the judges' table at the Constitutional Court in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

A gavel sits on the judges' table at the Constitutional Court in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Youngsters shout slogans and flash the light of their mobile phones in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, during a protest against Calin Georgescu, the independent candidate for Romanian presidency who won the first round of elections making it to the Dec. 8, runoff. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A woman shouts next to a banner depicting a grumpy cat with a text that reads "I feel like barking" in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024 during a protest against Calin Georgescu, the independent candidate for Romanian presidency who won the first round of elections making it to the Dec. 8, runoff. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Youngsters shout slogans and flash the light of their mobile phones in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, next to an altered version of a classic painting, depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Calin Georgescu, the independent candidate for Romanian presidency who won the first round of elections making it to the Dec. 8, runoff. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Calin Georgescu independent candidate in the presidential elections speaks to media, in Izvorani, Romania, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, after making it into the December 8 election runoff. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Calin Georgescu, running as an independent candidate for president gestures while delivering a speech to media, in Izvorani, Romania, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, after making it to the Dec. 8 election runoff. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A journalist records Calin Georgescu, running as an independent candidate for president gestures while delivering a speech to media, in Izvorani, Romania, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, after making it to the Dec. 8 election runoff. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Syrian armed groups launched a large-scale attack on areas controlled by government forces and seized territory in northwestern Syria, opposition groups said Thursday. The government and its allies responded with airstrikes and shelling to ward off the insurgent advances, activists said.

The violence has displaced thousands of families, and forced aid groups to suspend some of their services. Volunteers with the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, said at least 18 people, including three children and two women, were killed in two different villages in western Aleppo following airstrikes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said the airstrikes were from Russian warplanes.

Syria’s armed forces said Thursday the offensive was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which controls much of northwest Syria and is a violation of a de-escalation agreement. It said the attacks are ongoing and have targeted a number of villages and military bases.

Turkey, which backs Syrian opposition factions, and Russia and Iran, which have backed government forces, reached an agreement in late 2019 that effectively froze the line of the conflict and prevented government advances in Idlib province, which has been the last stronghold for a mix of radical groups and Turkey-backed Syrian forces.

“Our forces are confronting the terrorist organizations with different power and in collaboration with friendly forces to ensure the situation returns to how it was," the army statement said.

Opposition factions launched the offensive early Wednesday and claimed in a series of statements on social media that they have wrestled control of over 15 villages from government forces in northwestern Aleppo, capturing a military base and hardware, and taking a number of soldiers hostage.

The offensive expanded Thursday to reach the countryside of Idlib province, where government forces control a major highway and a strategic town that was previously held by the insurgents, the armed groups and the Syrian Observatory said. The Associated Press could not independently verify those claims.

The opposition fighters said their offensive will allow the return of thousands of displaced people who were forced to flee government bombardment in recent weeks.

The offensive follows weeks of simmering violence in the area, where activists said government and allied Russian forces have stepped up their bombardment of parts of the last remaining stronghold of the opposition.

The International Rescue Committee said at least 7,000 families have been newly displaced by the escalating hostilities and some schools and health facilities have been forced to suspend services, including IRC's own field operations.

The offensive also came as Iran-linked groups, who had backed Syrian government forces since 2015, have been preoccupied with their own battle at home.

Israel and Hezbollah, the lead group in the Iran-backed alliance, have been locked in a war that escalated since September. A cease-fire was announced Wednesday, the day the Syrian opposition factions announced their offensive. Israel has also escalated its attacks against Hezbollah and Iran-linked targets in Syria during the last 70 days.

Formerly known as the Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaida, HTS later changed its name several times and distanced itself from al-Qaida.

Russia, along with Iran, backed Syrian government forces soon after the anti-government protests in 2011 turned into a war. Turkey has backed an array of opposition forces and established military presence in parts of northwestern Syria. Meanwhile, the United States has supported Syrian Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State militants largely in the east of the country.

Turkey said Thursday it was closely monitoring the offensive launched by the opposition groups in northern Syria. Unnamed defense ministry officials quoted in the state-run Anadolu Agency said Thursday the Turkish military had taken “all kinds of measures” to protect its troops in Syria.

Turkish security officials said on Thursday that Syrian opposition groups initially launched a “limited” offensive towards Aleppo, from where attacks targeting civilians originated. However, the offensive expanded as Syrian government forces began to retreat from their positions.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said opposition groups in Idlib had long planned an offensive to expel Syrian government forces and militias from the area to protect civilians. Turkey had previously prevented these operations to avoid escalating tensions in the region, especially amid Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Lebanon.

The officials indicated that the offensive proceeded after Turkish diplomatic efforts to prevent government attacks were unsuccessful.

The aim of the offensive was to reestablish the boundaries of the de-escalation zone, according to the Turkish officials.

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Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey contributed to this report

Smoke rises amid fighting between opposition factions and Syrian government troops in Majdaliya, Aleppo countryside, Syria, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Smoke rises amid fighting between opposition factions and Syrian government troops in Dadikh, Aleppo countryside, Syria, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Smoke rises amid fighting between opposition factions and Syrian government troops in Majdaliya, Aleppo countryside, Syria, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Smoke rises amid fighting between opposition factions and Syrian government troops in Dadikh, Aleppo countryside, Syria, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)