(ANSA-AFP) - BUCHAREST, NOV 29 - Romania on Friday embarked
on a recount of votes from the first round of its presidential
election, amid concerns the weekend 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 a
little-known far-right admirer of Russian President Vladimir
Putin. The EU country was meanwhile bracing for legislative
polls on Sunday, with the far right hoping to seize the momentum
created by its latest success. Sunday's parliamentary election
will be closely watched by Western capitals, amid fears the
votes could herald a shift in the NATO country's foreign policy.
Large bags of first-round ballots lined the corridors of local
electoral bureaus across the country, with the recount process
expected to last three days. The top court's recount order --
triggered by an application for annulment from an unsuccessful
presidential candidate -- has been widely criticised. The
centrist Union Save Romania (USR) party of small-town mayor
Elena Lasconi, who placed second, has lodged a complaint. The
Liberals also slammed what they called a "confusing" ruling
which only serves to "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. - 'Stolen' election - 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 possible
interference in the election, far-right presidential hopeful
Calin Georgescu -- who secured an unexpected first-round win --
was hailed by some as a defender of the legitimacy of the
Romanian vote. According to the 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 was
eliminated from the presidential race, calledit a potentially
"flawed, stolen" election, while stressing he would not
participate in a possible re-run. - Far right aims to gain
ground - Two major parties have shaped the country's politics
for the past three decades, but analysts predict a fragmented
parliament to 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 the rising call of
nationalism in the region, but experts say it faces an
unprecedented situation as anger over soaring inflation and the
government 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) party, 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. (ANSA-AFP).
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