On the morning of Nov. 25, independent candidate Calin Georgescu was declared the winner of the first round of Romania’s presidential elections, taking just under 23 percent of the vote. Yet much of the country was left asking: “Who is Calin Georgescu?”
Other questions quickly followed: Why was he overlooked in opinion polls, and why did mainstream media ignore a candidate capable of such an upset?
The previously unknown Georgescu, an independent with pro-Russian and anti-European views, ran an almost exclusively digital campaign on TikTok. With nearly 9 million users in Romania—about 47 percent of the population—the country boasts the highest percentage of TikTok accounts per capita in the European Union, according to World Population Review.
This algorithm-fueled campaign not only unsettled Romanian authorities but also raised alarm in Western capitals, prompting the European Commission to demand explanations from the Chinese-owned platform and even consider launching an investigation.
Georgescu’s views on NATO have also set off alarms. Georgescu has not shied away from publicly admiring Russian President Vladimir Putin, frequently calling him a “patriot” and a “leader among leaders.” He has also emulated the Russian leader’s propaganda stunts, portraying himself as a strongman by filming himself on horseback, practicing judo, and swimming in icy mountain lakes.
Like Putin, Georgescu has been a vocal NATO critic, questioning Romania’s membership in the alliance. In a June television appearance when he said: “Why remain in a club that doesn’t provide security for your country?”
Regarding the NATO missile shield in the southern Romanian town of Deveselu, which hosts a NATO base, Georgescu called it a “diplomatic embarrassment” in a speech he gave in 2021 and argued that it “dragged us into a conflict we didn’t need.”
“The shield is part of a confrontational policy. It’s not about peace, as those kissing the ring at various doors would have you believe,” he said at the time, in a statement reported by the online publication G4Media.
Repeatedly, Georgescu has claimed that NATO membership does not provide Romania with the security guarantees that it needs and that “no NATO country would be defended if attacked by Russia.”
Putin has taken note of Georgescu’s overtures. In the past, Georgescu has been praised for his pro-Russian, anti-Western stances by Sputnik and Russia Today, some of the Kremlin’s propaganda outlets, one of which once labeled him a “master strategist.” More recently, on Dec. 2, the Russian dictator mocked the court’s decision to recount votes, suggesting that it was an attempt to remove Georgescu from the race.
Georgescu’s surprising victory in the first round wasn’t the only shock. Marcel Ciolacu, Romania’s prime minister and leader of its largest party, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), failed to advance to the runoff despite being a favorite throughout the campaign. He was narrowly overtaken by Elena Lasconi, the president of a center-right, anti-establishment party called the Save Romania Union (USR) as well as the mayor of a small provincial town. She bested Ciolacu by just 2,740 votes in the initial vote count.
This result, pitting the nationalist, sovereignty-first Georgescu against pro-European Elena Lasconi in the runoff—combined with the behind-the-scenes machinations of Romania’s political establishment—has upended the nation’s political landscape and deeply unsettled society.
On Nov. 28, Romania’s Constitutional Court postponed validating the first-round results, ordering a recount of all votes cast on Nov. 24 following a challenge by a former PSD senator. The complaint described a hypothetical situation and lacked evidence of electoral fraud.
This unprecedented decision—unheard of since the fall of the communist Ceausescu regime 35 years ago—sparked a wave of criticism, with suspicions mounting that the court’s judges, largely appointed by PSD, might seek to overturn the results and replace Lasconi in the runoff with Ciolacu, given the narrow vote margin between the two.
Further fueling these suspicions, the Romanian Permanent Electoral Bureau—tasked with overseeing the recount—banned independent observers and the filming of the process.
Amid this climate of distrust regarding the first-round presidential results, Romania held parliamentary elections on Dec. 1, amplifying the extremist wave that had already gained momentum.
Two new far-right sovereigntist parties, SOS Romania and the Young People’s Party, joined the ranks of the established far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians, collectively securing nearly one-third of the seats in the new legislature. Pro-European parties hold a little more than half of the seats, but forming a functional government appears to be a formidable challenge.
Although Romania narrowly avoided veering more strongly toward extremism, the country’s political future remains uncertain due to the fragmented parliament.
After four days of uncertainty and another electoral blow to the political establishment, the Constitutional Court validated the first-round results on Dec. 2. The recount confirmed that Lasconi’s lead over Ciolacu was, in fact, closer to 5,000 votes, ensuring that the runoff would proceed as scheduled on Dec. 8.
Despite facing a relatively unknown opponent, Lasconi’s pro-European stance does not guarantee an easy path to victory. Many voters from establishment parties lean toward sovereigntist rhetoric and remain hesitant about electing a woman as president.
Lasconi, a former television journalist who was elected mayor of Campulung Muscel in 2020, was thrust into the national spotlight as her party’s presidential candidate after the USR underperformed in local and European elections earlier this year.
With uncertain political backing, Lasconi now faces Georgescu—a candidate who openly expresses pro-Russian and pro-Putin sentiments.
The possibility of Russian interference in the election—drawing parallels with Brexit, the 2016 U.S. presidential race, and recent events in Moldova—is a hot topic in Bucharest. However, Romania’s national security agencies have fumbled their response to the issue.
President Klaus Iohannis, often criticized for prolonged silences and his absence from public discourse, declared the day after the first round that he had “received no reports” from intelligence agencies about “risks of foreign influence on the presidential election,” “external interference in the electoral process,” or “suspicious promotional activity on certain social media platforms.”
Iohannis’s statement was seen as a response to accusations from politicians, NGOs, and the media linking Georgescu to Russian interests as well as criticism of the president’s own political inaction, which some blame for the rise of populist extremists.
The president has also faced backlash for failing to appoint a civilian head of the Romanian Intelligence Service following the previous director’s resignation in July 2023. With a war raging just across Romania’s border with Ukraine and Russian influence growing throughout the European Union—especially in countries such as Hungary and Slovakia—Iohannis has largely ignored hybrid threats.
Amid mounting criticism, Iohannis convened the Supreme Council for National Defense (CSAT), which includes top cabinet ministers and intelligence officials and coordinates defense and national security activities.
In a press release, the CSAT acknowledged that it had found indications of “cyberattacks aimed at influencing the integrity of the electoral process” and confirmed that “Romania, along with other NATO Eastern Flank states, has become a priority target for hostile actions by state and nonstate actors, particularly the Russian Federation.”
These actions, the council’s release stated, aim to “influence public discourse and social cohesion within Romanian society.” The CSAT also confirmed that “a presidential candidate” had received “preferential treatment” on TikTok, which the council accused of violating Romania’s electoral legislation. (Georgescu, however, was not specifically named in the release.)
Yesterday, the Supreme Council for National Defense (CSAT) declassified the reports presented in last week’s meeting. The reports noted that a “state actor” coordinated and amplified messaging on TikTok. It also noted that Romania and other Eastern European states had become priority targets for Russian hostile actions, including cyberattacks and sabotage.
All of this merely validated what many Romanians already suspected.
Georgescu’s quiet ascent in a divided society grappling with poverty and a disillusioned electorate raises more questions than answers.
The choice of Romania’s next president—who, despite having relatively limited powers, is responsible for nominating the prime minister—remains pivotal.
Moreover, the president commands the armed forces, appoints civilian intelligence agency directors, and sets the country’s foreign policy.
The Romanian public still knows very little about Georgescu, despite two weeks of intense media exposure. However, the information that has come to light has deeply divided Romanian society in a way that no one else has managed since the fall of the Communist regime.
Before Nov. 24, he was largely overlooked. But the fierce support he has garnered from a segment of the electorate—disillusioned with the traditional political class and viewing state institutions as corrupt and ineffective—has turned Georgescu into a crucial political figure.
The uncertainty surrounding the second round is heightened by the potential impact of votes from Romanians abroad—particularly those living in Western Europe—where Georgescu secured over 43 percent of the vote in the first round.
With the election’s outcome likely determining whether Romania aligns itself with the West or veers toward the East, the stakes for Dec. 8 could not be higher.
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