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Romanian officials have announced a re-run of the country’s presidential election in May.

Some shit you should know before you read: Back in November, Romania held its first round of presidential elections, which saw Calin Georgescu, a little-known politician, emerge as the surprise winner. The government claimed Georgescu’s victory was heavily influenced by a large-scale social media campaign spearheaded by TikTok, which allegedly gave him preferential treatment. Amid suspicions of Russian interference, the government annulled the election, with the top court ordering a re-run. However, Georgescu and opposition groups accused the government of interfering in the democratic process by invalidating the results, claiming that the annulment was a politically motivated “formalized coup d’état” and denying any ties to Russia.  

Calin Georgescu Crin Antonescu Inquam Photos Octav Ganea And George Calin

What’s going on now: In an announcement, the Romanian government confirmed that a re-run of the presidential election will take place in two rounds, with the first round scheduled for May 4 and the second on May 18, if no candidate secures over 50% of the vote in the first round. While the full list of candidates has not been finalized, incumbent President Klaus Iohannis will remain in office until a new leader is elected, and the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party has signaled its intention to back Calin Georgescu once again.

The announcement has reignited tensions, with protests erupting in Bucharest and other cities. Tens of thousands of demonstrators, many organized by the AUR, have criticized the annulment of the previous election and demanded the resignation of Iohannis.

To address the controversies surrounding the annulled vote, the government has also issued new decrees aimed at tightening campaign regulations. Social media platforms, including TikTok, will now be required to clearly label all campaign materials as election-related content and disclose their sponsors. Additionally, any content violating these rules must be removed within five hours of a request from Romanian election officials, or platforms could face fines ranging from 1% to 5% of their revenue.

Despite these measures, critics, including Romanian rights groups, have voiced concerns over the lack of public consultation on the new rules and argue that they fail to tackle underlying issues, such as the transparency of campaign financing.

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