There are whole decades when nothing happens — and then days when Romanian elections happen. The last few weeks in Romania have been tumultuous even by 2020s standards: after the first round of presidential elections on November 24 was won by Călin Georgescu, a far-right, Vladimir Putin–curious independent who seemingly came out of nowhere, the parliamentary elections on December 1 saw (another) far-right party, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), come in second place. The result: to force all mainstream parties into negotiations for a “government of national unity.” More than ever, Romanian society has become polarized between the “sovereigntist” camp (including AUR) rallying behind Georgescu, and the pro-Western bulk of the political establishment and civil society. In effect, it’s a battle between the nationalist right and the neoliberal right.
But last Friday, the Constitutional Court delivered a fresh plot twist less than forty-eight hours before the planned second round of the presidential elections: the nullification of the first round and a complete rerun of the whole electoral process, with the vote likely to take place sometime next spring. The decision was based on evidence of electoral law violations by Georgescu’s campaign, including the failure to report campaign expenses and to label electoral advertising accordingly. Nevertheless, the over two million votes received by Georgescu were themselves genuine. Had they not been seen as a threat to Romania’s “Western path” (read: unconditional subordination), the highly politicized Constitutional Court would probably not have made this decision.
Surprisingly, both Georgescu and the pro-Western candidate who had made it into the second round, Elena…
Auteur: Vladimir Bortun
