Presidential candidate Crin Antonescu, who was supported by three parties in Romaniaʼs governing coalition, has suspended his campaign but has not withdrawn his candidacy. This is because the coalition has not yet unanimously approved his candidacy and the exact date of the presidential election is unknown.
He said this on the air of the Digi24 TV channel.
According to him, he expects the Romanian government to behave “responsibly”. In particular, this concerns explanations “about what happened in Romania with the cancellation of the first round of voting, to ensure that there is still democracy in this country”.
Antonescu also finds it "unacceptable" that the coalition first unofficially nominated him as a candidate, but later individual politicians told him that there would be additional meetings and that they were not sure about his candidacy.
"If you keep your choice regarding my candidacy, you know where to find me," the politician said.
But, according to him, he will think better than the first time, and only after that will he respond to the proposal again.
"I am not withdrawing my candidacy, I am not backing down, I have taken on everything that this means, all the difficulties and the entire path, and I am ready to go through it to the end at any time," Antonescu declared.
Presidential elections in Romania
The first round of the presidential election in Romania was held on November 24. Far-right politician Calin Georgescu and liberal pro-European candidate Elena Lasconi advanced to the second round. Lasconi beat the countryʼs incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu by just 2 700 votes.
Georgescuʼs leadership was unexpected, and he was accused of influencing the election through TikTok. Because of this, the European Commission even asked the platform to provide information on how the social network has reduced the risk of inauthentic or automated use of its service, as well as to list the risks arising from its recommended content system.
Romanian intelligence has found that the TikTok account bogpr, used by Romanian citizen Bogdan Pescir, participated in financing Georgescuʼs campaign. He made payments totaling $381 000 between October 24 and November 24 to users of TikTok accounts that participated in Georgescuʼs promotion.
Romaniaʼs Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of the presidential election on December 6. A new vote is scheduled for spring 2025.
Far-right Romanian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights to challenge the rerun of the election. Georgescu is asking ECHR to order the Romanian authorities to organize a second round of voting, which he and pro-Western candidate Elena Lasconi qualified for. The politician insists on an urgent consideration of the case.
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