Romanians demand voting after court scraps polls fearing Russian meddling

Romanians on Sunday protested outside a voting station near Bucharest together with far-right presidential frontrunner Calin Georgescu after a top court scrapped the scheduled run-off vote after allegations of Russian interference.

Georgescu unexpectedly topped the first round of voting on November 24 in the NATO and EU member bordering Ukraine.

But the constitutional court on Friday unanimously decided to annul the entire electoral process as it was "marred... by multiple irregularities and violations of electoral legislation".


The annulment followed a spate of intelligence documents declassified by the presidency this week detailing allegations against Georgescu and Russia, including claims of "massive" social media promotion and cyberattacks.

More than 100 people gathered at a polling station near Bucharest on Sunday -- the originally scheduled date of the run-off vote -- shouting "Down with dictatorship", "We want to vote" and "Thieves".

"I am here for democracy, because in my opinion it no longer exists," Adriana Iaercau, a 60-year-old teacher, told AFP.

Georgescu accused the authorities to have cancelled the elections by fear he would win.