Our Planet Climate and Geopolitics
Far-right candidate Călin Georgescu has appealed his ban from May’s presidential election in Romania, three months after the original race was cancelled due to allegations of Russian meddling.
The ban was announced on Sunday by the central election authority, comprising judges and political party representatives, and led to violent protests in Bucharest.
Georgescu won the first round of the election in November despite claiming to spend no money on his campaign, before intelligence reports emerged suggesting a deluge of supportive TikTok videos could have been coordinated by a state actor.
The documents provide no evidence of Moscow’s involvement, but point to Russia’s history of “interfering in the electoral processes of other states”.
Georgescu is under criminal investigation on six counts, including communicating false information about campaign financing. He has denied all wrongdoing.
Currently polling at 40 per cent, Georgescu is expected to hear back about his appeal tomorrow.
