The issue of Romania’s annulled presidential election is to be heard at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), media in the country has reported.
Victorious candidate Călin Georgescu had previously challenged the Constitutional Court’s decision to overturn the vote amid Russian interference claims in Romania’s court of appeals, with his efforts being rejected on December 31.
Georgescu’s lawyer has since told local publication HotNews that they now want to take the case to the ECHR, arguing that such an escalation was now necessary to protect the country’s democracy.
“The action at the ECHR is a natural and absolutely necessary step to defend the fundamental rights of Mr Călin Georgescu, an independent candidate, as well as of all Romanian citizens who deserve a fair and transparent electoral process,” his lawyer Maria Vasii said.
“We will continue to use all the legal and constitutional instruments at our disposal, both in the country and internationally, to protect the rights of Mr Călin Georgescu and the votes of Romanians.”
According to Georgescu’s team, the decision to overturn the election has caused “irreparable harm” to the human rights of Romanians.
The populist candidate said he planned to ask the court to force Romanian authorities to recognise the legitimacy of the presidential election and make the country “adopt measures to remedy moral and democratic prejudices, by restoring trust in the electoral process”.
“Considering the electoral vacuum created by the suspension of the electoral process, the crisis of political legitimacy and the growing social protests, the impact on the fundamental rights of voters and candidates, I request that the case be tried in a speedy procedure and that urgent provisional measures be taken to prevent further damage,” a document sent to the court by Georgescu read.
The decision to ignore the results of the November 2024 election over an alleged Russian interference campaign on TikTok has been celebrated by many mainstream political groups in Western Europe, with news outlets characterising the vote as “dubious” or even “rigged”.
Some on the Right have framed the annulment as an attempt at a self-coup by incumbent forces within the Romanian State.
“We are facing a coup d’etat against the will of the people,” George Simion, the leader of the populist-right AUR party, previously told Brussels Signal.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: "So what happens now?" @JustinStares asks @georgesimion, leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians party, after the first round of the Romanian presidential election was annulled. pic.twitter.com/k34I73NeG2
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) December 19, 2024
