The leader of Romania’s far-right AUR party, George Simion, announced his intention to challenge the presidential election results at the Constitutional Court, despite acknowledging his defeat in the second round of voting.
In his social media statement, Simion noted that his appeal would be based on the same grounds that led to the annulment of the previous election results in December last year. He claims that the annulment was caused by external interference from both state and non-state actors, hinting at France and Moldova, and assures that he has the appropriate evidence to support this.
“To all Romanians: demand that the Constitutional Court cancel this farce. We will not give up or betray! This is only the beginning of a great victory!” Simion emphasized in his message.
Earlier, Pavel Durov, co-founder of Telegram, reported that one Western European country requested the platform to restrict access to conservative political channels in Romania ahead of the elections. In response, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs called these accusations unfounded, and French intelligence denied Durov’s claims.
Additionally, a spokesperson for the Romanian Foreign Ministry pointed to signs of Russian interference in the elections, as well as a “viral campaign spreading fake news on Telegram and other platforms.”
Recall that in December last year, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of the November presidential elections due to suspicions of interference by Russia. At that time, the pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu, who led in the first round, was banned from running.
The first round of the early presidential elections took place on May 4, 2025. The second round featured far-right candidate George Simion, who received 40.96% of the votes, and independent candidate, Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan, with 20.99% of the votes.
The second round of the presidential elections, held on May 18, ended with Nicușor Dan’s victory, who received over 54% of the votes, while Simion garnered over 46%.
