The Constitutional Court of Romania is facing an important decision related to the annulment of the presidential elections, but the judges will be able to make a decision only after the second round of voting.
The Constitutional Court of Romania. Photo: CCR
As Romania prepares for the second round of presidential elections in 2024, a series of recent events and statements have sparked a wave of discussion regarding the legality of the electoral process, cyber security and possible challenges. Former constitutional judge Tudorel Toader and other specialists in constitutional law analyzed the referrals submitted to the Constitutional Court (CCR) regarding these elections, explaining how things could evolve in the next period.
Annulment of the election – an unlikely possibility before the second round
Tudorel Toader emphasized that the CCR judges will be able to make a decision regarding the annulment of the elections only after the end of the second round of voting, which will take place on December 8, 2024. According to him, the notifications submitted by various organizations and individuals are “inadmissible”. “The Constitutional Court is referred to itself or ex officio in only one situation, namely when it comes to the revision of the Constitution. Otherwise, absolutely never. Let’s wait for the Court’s decision, but it is very unlikely that they will now take a decision to cancel the elections (ed. and in the conditions where voting abroad has already started tonight, from 1.00 local time)”Tudorel Toader explained.
Elena Lasconi’s objections and statements
Although CCR announced that only qualified candidates in the second round can file appeals, Elena Lasconi, one of the candidates in the presidential race, said she will not do so. On a TV show, Lasconi emphasized that Romania is in a moment “so tense in society” that such a challenge would further fuel the conflicts. “It seems to me that it is already too much for the citizens”she added, considering that state institutions must be strengthened to prevent the emergence of such tensions. She emphasized that if the authorities had performed their duties more effectively, there would not have been supporters of the sovereignist movements in this election campaign.
Declassification of security documents and cyber threats
Regarding the security of the electoral process, there was intense talk about the cyber attacks that targeted the IT&C infrastructures of the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP) and the Special Telecommunications Service (STS). According to a report by the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), more than 85,000 cyber attacks aimed at exploiting the vulnerabilities of the electoral process support infrastructures were recorded. The objective of these attacks was to obtain unauthorized access to the data in the computer systems, altering them and even making the electoral infrastructure unavailable.
In the context of these threats, President Klaus Iohannis agreed to the declassification of information related to cyber attacks, presented during a meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT). The SRI report indicates that the attacks were orchestrated by a state cyber actor, which attempted to exploit vulnerabilities in the IT&C infrastructures supporting the electoral process.
The TikTok network of Călin Georgescu’s supporters
At the same time, the SRI report highlighted a network of TikTok accounts that supported Călin Georgescu’s candidacy in the presidential elections. According to the SRI, this network initially consisted of 25,000 active accounts on the TikTok platform, which began to become very active during the pre-election period, two weeks before the elections. The SRI also informed that almost 800 accounts in this network were created since 2016, but had very little activity until November 11, 2024, when the entire network was activated at full capacity. Also, the SRI found that between October 24 and November 24, 2024, an owner of a company in Brașov made donations worth over one million euros and made payments of $381,000 to accounts involved in promoting Georgescu’s candidacy, including after the end of the electoral campaign.
The Constitutional Court will rule only after the second round
Regarding appeals and referrals submitted to the CCR, the Court announced that it will examine all petitions and requests related to the presidential elections. According to constitutional law, the CCR can only examine appeals from candidates who are qualified for the second round, and this process will take place after this election is over. The CCR judges are also expected to review documents declassified by security institutions, especially those related to cyber attacks, but any decision to cancel the election could only come after the second round of voting is completed and the results officially confirmed.
