If he will not be banned, the ultra-nationalist Călin Georgescu seems very well placed in the race to win the presidential elections that will resume in May, wrote the publication Politico on Wednesday evening.
Călin Georgescu, at the Bucharest Court of Appeal Photo: Inquam Photos
The new vote will take place on May 4, and the second round was planned two weeks later on May 18.
Romania has set a date for the repeat of the presidential elections after concerns about “aggressive hybrid action” of Russia in the first round. However, there is still a risk that the result will be similar in the second attempt and Călin Georgescu will win the elections, writes Politico following an analysis of the situation of the presidential elections in our country.
The publication recalls that the first round of the Romanian elections on November 24 last year caused an international shock wave following Georgescu’s victory, which was propelled from obscurity by a highly successful TikTok campaign. The competition was canceled before the second round could take place.
Even if Georgescu’s victory – with 23 percent – triggered the panic that ultimately led to the annulment of the vote, he still seems very well placed in the competition for the rerun of the election. Much will now depend on whether he will be disqualified by the Constitutional Court due to accusations of undeclared funding, notes the Brussels publication. Its continued popularity, and perhaps even increasing, is due in part to deep suspicion of the clientelism and nepotism of the old traditional parties, which are considered by many Romanians to be the ones that pulled the strings for the annulment of the first vote, Politico explains.
Declassified intelligence documents claimed that paid influencers, along with members of right-wing extremist groups and people with ties to organized crime, promoted Georgescu’s candidacy online before November 24. While the documents said that Russia generally tried to undermine the election, they did not directly say that Moscow specifically influenced Georgescu’s campaign – although they strongly suggested it.
Radu Magdin, Romanian political analyst, regarding the cancellation of the first round: “We need a serious investigation”
Despite this alleged foreign interference, the majority of Romanians still believe that canceling the elections was a bad decision, according to a survey conducted by the Romanian Institute for Evaluation and Strategy, a think tank, of almost 1,000 respondents. Georgescu would have won the second round of voting, if it had not been cancelled, according to the survey.
In last year’s race, Georgescu should have faced Elena Lasconi, the candidate of the center-right Union Save Romania party. She also criticized the court’s decision to cancel the elections and order a rerun of the polls.
“To regain our influence as a serious country, we need a serious investigation into what happened”, said Radu Magdin, Romanian political analyst, regarding the first round. Otherwise, it is very difficult for people to move on, as some parties in the governing coalition would like, added Magdin.
Georgescu unsuccessfully contested the annulment decision of the Constitutional Court domestically and also filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. He appealed to the Romanians to sign a petition to the Constitutional Court requesting that the second round – in which he was to face Lasconi – finally take place.
“Georgescu had the opportunity to present himself as a victim to his electorate“, emphasizes Magdin.
Nicușor Dan’s poll, also criticized in the international press
Since November, Georgescu’s profile has exploded and he remains the favorite for the May elections, according to a survey commissioned by the mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, who is also running for the presidency. This survey shows that at least 40% of Romanians intend to vote for Georgescu, the mayor told Digi24, without specifying how many people were surveyed.
“The frustrations he channels as a candidate, the anti-establishment vibe, and his promises for the future cannot easily be matched by another candidate“, says analyst Radu Magdin.
Likewise, Victor Ponta, social-democratic deputy in the Romanian Parliament and former prime minister, suggested that the mayor’s survey is fictitious. “You don’t do surveys during the holidays – it’s an invention – Mr. Nicușor Dan didn’t even specify the name of the so-called survey companyPonta told Politico.
