Romania to rerun presidential election in May

Romania’s presidential election is set to be rerun in May after last year’s original ballot was annulled due to suspicion of Russian interference.

The country’s governing coalition said the first round of voting would be held on May 4, with a second round—if needed—on May 18, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Călin Georgescu, a far-right pro-Russian candidate, won the first round of the election when it was originally run in November. Georgescu’s victory came as a shock given that he was considered a rank outsider before the vote, with opinion polls giving him single-figure levels of support.

But ahead of an expected run-off between Georgescu and a liberal candidate, the results were struck off by the country’s top court.

Its decision came after Romanian intelligence published allegations of “aggressive hybrid Russian attacks” during the electoral period, with politicians sympathetic to the Kremlin being heavily promoted on social media.

In the meantime, a coalition of pro-EU parties has taken power in parliament, and the ruling parties intend to put forward a single candidate for the presidential polls in an attempt to put up a common front against the far right.

The outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis, will stay in his role as head of state until his successor is elected.

News.Az