Romania re-runs its election after Moscow TikTok interference

Yesterday Romanians should have been voting in the country’s presidential election runoff between far-right populist Calin Georgescu and liberal Elena Lasconi. Instead police were busy arresting dozens of armed men who were travelling to the capital Bucharest to join protests, after the country’s top court cancelled the vote following allegations of Russian interference via social media. The government declassified documents last week alleging that Moscow used 25,000 TikTok accounts to propel Georgescu to victory and arranged for some influencers to be paid in violation of election laws. TikTok said on Friday it had recently removed three “covert influence networks” in Romania. The court’s decision makes Romania the first democracy to cancel an election over alleged Russian meddling, but it has divided the country – though not the presidential candidates. Both have criticised the court’s decision.