Romania Recounts Presidential Ballots As Parliamentary Vote Looms

Romania on Friday began recounting the votes from last week's dramatic first-round presidential election, amid concerns the ballot might be annulled as authorities pointed to Russia's influence and alleged interference via TikTok.

Romania was thrown into chaos after a top court ordered a recount of the first-round vote, won by Calin Georgescu, a little-known far-right admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The EU country meanwhile braced for legislative polls on Sunday, with the far right hoping to seize the momentum created by its latest success.

The parliamentary election will be closely watched by the West, amid fears the votes could herald a shift in the NATO country's foreign policy.

Piles of bags filled with first-round ballots -- including absentee votes from abroad -- were hauled to local electoral bureaus across the country Friday, with the recount process expected to last three days or longer.

The recount order by the Constitutional Court -- which is due to meet on December 2 to rule on an application for annulment from an unsuccessful presidential candidate -- drew politicised backlash in Romania.

The centre-right Union Save Romania (USR) party has lodged a complaint. Its leader, small-town mayor Elena Lasconi, who placed second, accused the court of opposing the "will" of millions of Romanians.

The Liberals also lambasted what they called a "confusing" ruling that would "fuel concerns and tensions".

Independent observers from several civic organisations said they were denied access to the recount, raising concerns over the transparency of the electoral process.

Amid heightened concerns of a possible annulment, uncertainty among voters was palpable on the streets of Romania and dominated discussions on social media.

"A large part of Romanian society is shocked, another part is euphoric," political scientist Remus Stefureac told AFP.

While authorities alleged irregularities and interference in the election, shock first-round winner Georgescu defended the legitimacy of the vote.

According to Romania's Supreme Council of National Defence, Georgescu was granted "preferential treatment" by TikTok that it said led to his "massive exposure" -- a claim the social network "categorically" denied.

The defence council also said officials had detected "cyber attacks aimed at influencing the correctness of the electoral process", reporting "a growing interest" on the part of Russia "to influence the public agenda in Romanian society".

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who failed to reach the presidential runoff, scheduled for December 8, called it a potentially "flawed, stolen" election, while stressing he would not participate in a possible re-run.

Two major parties have shaped the country's politics for the past three decades, but analysts predict a fragmented parliament will emerge from Sunday's vote, influencing the chances of forming a future government.

The far right is currently leading the polls at more than 30 percent.

The country of 19 million people has so far resisted rising nationalism in the region, but experts say it faces an unprecedented situation as anger over soaring inflation has mounted.

Several parties are running in Sunday's vote.

Among the far-right parties are the AUR party, whose leader, George Simion, won nearly 14 percent of the presidential vote, and the extreme-right SOS Romania party, led by firebrand Diana Sosoaca.

The recently founded Party of Young People (POT), which entered the political scene after Georgescu's surprise win, has meanwhile thrown its support behind him and could reach the five-percent threshold to enter parliament.

"We are here, standing, alive, more numerous than ever, and with a huge opportunity ahead of us," Simion -- a fan of US President-elect Donald Trump -- recently told his supporters.

Lasconi's pro-European USR party hopes to come out on top, warning that the country faces "an existential battle", "a historic confrontation" between those who wish to "preserve Romania's young democracy" and those who want to "return to the Russian sphere of influence".

The ruling Social Democrats (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL), which suffered a defeat in the presidential ballot, have centred their campaigns on their "experience".

"The political scene is completely reset," said expert Stefureac, adding that 2025 "will be extremely complicated in terms of security risks" amid the war in neighbouring Ukraine.