The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has rejected a request by Călin Georgescu, a right-conservative presidential candidate and NATO critic, to suspend the annulment of his victory in the first round of the Romanian presidential election.
Georgescu sought an interim measure to have the court compel the Romanian government to recognize his first-round results and organize a second round of voting. The judges in Strasbourg, however, rejected the request unanimously, citing that, unlike Georgescu’s portrayal, there is no immediate and irreparable harm to protected rights.
This decision does not mean the court will dismiss Georgescu’s complaint against the annulment. The court’s decision on the matter will be made at a later date.
Georgescu had surprisingly won the first round of the Romanian presidential election on November 24. The Romanian Constitutional Court, however, later declared the election invalid, citing suspicions of Russian interference in Georgescu’s favor.
During the campaign, it was noticed that Georgescu was supported by a TikTok campaign, with over a hundred influencers promoting his candidacy. The campaign allegedly garnered over 2.4 million clicks. However, it remains unclear why a TikTok campaign would be decisive in a country like Romania with around 18 million eligible voters, predominantly rural.
Later, it was revealed that there was indeed election interference, but not by Russia, rather by a pro-European Romanian party.
The EU Commission had intensified its monitoring of the video-sharing platform TikTok just before the runoff election, citing the risk of “manipulation”.
Romanian authorities accuse Georgescu of profiting from an “illegal support campaign by Russia” on TikTok. Georgescu denies having connections to Moscow and describes the election annulment as a “formalized coup.”
In mid-December, Georgescu had submitted his complaint to the ECHR, initially seeking to have the court suspend the Romanian court’s decision to annul the election. The judges, however, rejected Georgescu’s request for an interim measure under Article 39 of the ECHR’s Rules of Procedure. The court referred to its current decision having no bearing on the later decision on the contents of Georgescu’s complaint.
The Romanian government had recently set new election dates, with the first round scheduled for May 4, 2025, and the potential second round on May 18, 2025, if necessary.