The decision to annul the election is questioned • TV4 News on the ground in Romania
In Romania, embattled presidential candidate Calin Georgescu has vowed to fight the Constitutional Court’s decision to cancel the election on Friday, due to hybrid attacks by a foreign power.
Among Georgescu’s supporters, the disappointment is great on Saturday.
TV4 Nyheterna has visited one of the ultra-nationalist’s strongest strongholds in the Bucharest area.
The first round of Romania’s presidential election will be redone, the country’s highest court announced on Friday. This after information that Russia ran campaigns on, among other things, Tiktok to promote Calin Georgescu, who won the first round of elections.
Many of his supporters are said to be disappointed on Saturday. One of them is Stefan Marghidán, who works as a hairdresser just outside Bucharest.
– Yes, we support him, because he is the man of the year. He wants to change things in our country, and it’s better for us, but I think the big boys won’t let him, he says.
Schtefán Marghidán is worried, and finds it difficult to keep up with the dramatic turns of Romanian politics. But his manager at the hairdressing salon in Buftea, Maria Cut, is relieved.
– Nobody knows Georgescu. We have only seen him on TikTok. And he was about to become our president. Who are you man and what do you want to do with us? he says.
Anger and distrust
2.1 million Romanians voted for ultra-nationalist Calin Georgescu in the first round of elections, despite him being relatively unknown and campaigning solely on social media. The message of traditional values, and putting Romania first, appealed in small towns and the countryside.
In the Georgescu stronghold of Buftea, there is anger at the decision to cancel the election and also a lot of disbelief at why it was done.
– I was very encouraged to vote for him, because everyone wanted to take him down. If they want to take him down, there is a problem – they are afraid of him, says shop owner Gina Nicolae.
Earning the commotion
It is still unclear whether Georgescu will be able to run again, but if he does, Gina Nicolae believes he will benefit from the uproar surrounding his person.
– The way he speaks. He knows how to attract people with the tone. He is calm. We hoped for change through him, says Nicolae.