BUCHAREST — Romania’s pivotal presidential election was hit by new claims of Russian interference as voters turned out in high numbers to choose between a hard-right nationalist and a moderate pro-EU candidate.
Last year, the first attempt at holding presidential elections was canceled after Romanian authorities raised fears of foreign — likely Russian — interference.
On Sunday, the government issued fresh warnings of a Moscow-linked disinformation campaign after the social media platform Telegram messaged all users in the country with a claim that the West was trying to silence conservative voices.
“During Romania’s ongoing presidential elections yet again we see the hallmarks of Russian interference,” said a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry. “A viral campaign of fake news on Telegram & other social media platforms is aimed to influence the electoral process. This was expected & authorities debunked the fake news.”
The centrist presidential candidate, Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan, accused social media network Telegram of “unauthorized interference” after the platform’s Russian founder messaged all Romanian users claiming France had asked for “conservative” voices to be silenced. Paris denied that allegation.
“At 17:07 today, Pavel Durov, the Russian founder and CEO of Telegram, sent a message to all Romanian Telegram users, stating that a Western European government requested that Telegram silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of today’s presidential election,” Dan’s campaign said in a statement to the media.
“This statement and notification by Pavel Durov constitutes unauthorized interference by a social media platform in the electoral process. This notification sent to all Romanian Telegram users while polls were still open was a clear attempt to influence the outcome of the Romanian presidential election.”
Rising from the dead
Dan’s rival, the hard-right populist George Simion, had already cast doubt on the process earlier in the day, stating in a press conference that he was worried about potential fraud, after previously alleging Moldova had attempted to interfere in the vote.
He said there were 1.8 million deceased people on the electoral register, adding that he hoped they did not “rise from the dead and vote.”
The claims and counterclaims of interference and fraud underscore the high stakes of what has been a bitterly contested and at times ugly campaign. Turnout across the country and among Romania’s large diaspora was high.
There were reports of long lines in the big cities of Cluj in the north and the capital of Bucharest. By 7.:0 p.m. local time (6 p.m. CEST), 60 percent of registered voters had cast their ballots, across the country, with nearly two hours left before the polls close.
That turnout rate in Sunday’s final round vote was already much higher than the 53 percent who voted in the first round of the contest two weeks ago, according to official data. Voting closes and exit polls will be published at 9 p.m. local time (8 p.m. CEST) though the final result may not be clear for several days if the outcome is contested.
Critical contest
The race for the Romanian presidency is seen as a critical moment for the country of 19 million people on the European Union’s eastern edge.
Simion, a punchy Trumpian nationalist who wants to unify Romania with neighboring Moldova and is banned in Ukraine, has been sharply critical of the EU, and intends to halt all aid to Kyiv.
Dan, who has been the independent mayor of the capital since 2020, has vowed to stamp out corruption and play a more active role in EU affairs, while continuing to support Ukraine.
“I voted thinking of a lot of people who are quiet, honest and hardworking and who have for long not felt represented,” said Dan as he voted in his home town of Făgăraș in Transylvania on Sunday. “I voted for a change that brings prosperity and not one that brings adventure and discouragement of foreign investment.”
Simion voted in a small town outside Bucharest, with his political patron, the banned ultranationalist former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu.
He claimed he had heard official exit pollsters had been told to release data showing the race was neck-and-neck when they give their first indication of the results at 9 p.m. He has also accused Moldova of participating in a fraud by getting more people to vote in the election as expats.
He said his Alliance for the Union of Romanians party will conduct a parallel count of the votes across the country in an effort to make sure the election is fair. He announced a WhatsApp number for members of the public to report examples if they fear of the identities of dead friends or relatives have been used for vote fraud.
Romania’s constitutional court in December controversially canceled the presidential election amid fears of foreign interference after Georgescu came from nowhere to lead after the first round — although many questions remain unanswered about what happened.
This weekend’s vote is the rerun of that aborted contest. Simion has described the cancellation of last year’s election as a “coup d’état.” On Sunday, he said: “It is the most important thing today to return to democracy, the vote of the people and to restore the faith of the Romanian people in democracy.”
Russian interference claims hit Romania’s critical election on voting day
Source: Viral Showbiz Pinay
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