Annulment of the presidential elections in Romania must not be based solely on secret information
The presidential election in Romania in November 2024 led to considerable political tensions and ultimately to the annulment of the first round of voting by the Constitutional Court. The candidate Călin Georgescu had surprisingly won the first round of votes and was supposed to meet the centrist candidate Elena Lasconi in the run-off. However, “Russian influences” on the electoral process were allegedly identified, especially through coordinated campaigns on the social media platform TikTok. These alleged manipulations led to the Constitutional Court annulling the election and ordering a rerun.
The court’s decision was met with different reactions. Georgescu described it as a “formalised coup d’état”, while Lasconi criticised it as “illegal and immoral”. Both called for respect for the democratic process. President Klaus Iohannis, on the other hand, supported the court’s decision and emphasized its legitimacy.
A commission was then convened, which has now published a report.
The report is entitled “Urgent Report on the Cancellation of Election Results by Constitutional Courts” and was prepared by the Venice Commission. The main authors are:
- Marta Cartabia (Italy)
- Christoph Grabenwarter (Austria)
- Eirik Holmøyvik (Norway)
- Oliver Kask (Estonia, substitute member)
- Inga Milašiūtė (Lithuania, substitute)
- Angelika Nussberger (Germany)
The report was published on 27 January 2025 and analyses the conditions and standards under which constitutional courts can annul elections, with particular reference to the case of Romania.
The report stresses that such cancellation should not be based solely on secret or classified information. It underlines that transparency and the availability of evidence to the public and the parties involved are crucial to maintain trust in the democratic process.
The Commission underlines the need for decisions on the validity of elections to be based on clear, public and verifiable information. Secret information should only be used as a supplement and must not be the sole basis for such serious decisions as the annulment of elections.
This report takes a critical look at recent events in Romania and asks whether the annulment of the presidential elections is compatible with European standards of democratic processes and transparency. The Venice Commission calls on the Romanian authorities to rethink their decision-making processes and to ensure that future electoral decisions are made on a solid and transparent basis.
Translated and edited by Hans Seckler