Tens of thousands of people protest in the capital of Romania against the annulment of the presidential race

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Tens of thousands of people protested Sunday in Romania’s capital against last month’s decision by a top court in annul the presidential elections after an outside candidate unexpectedly emerged as the front-runner.

Many of the protesters in Bucharest honked horns and waved blue, yellow and red Romanian flags, while others brandished banners with slogans such as “Democracy is not optional” and “We want free elections.” Many also demanded the resumption of the presidential race starting with the second round.

The protest occurs a month after the Constitutional Court ruled the unprecedented measure to annul elections just two days before the second round on December 8. He far-right populist Calin Georgescu surprised many when won the first round on November 24, after which accusations of electoral violations and Russian interference emerged.

George Simion, leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, said at Sunday’s protest: “We are protesting against the coup d’état that took place on December 6.

“We are sorry to discover so late that we were living a lie and that we were led by people who claimed to be democrats, but are not at all,” Simion, whose party organized Sunday’s protest, told reporters. “We demand a return to democracy through the resumption of elections, beginning with the second round.”

The presidential race canceled last month plunged the European Union and the NATO member country into confusion and continued other controversies, including a recount of first round votes.

New dates have been set to repeat the vote, with the first round scheduled for May 4. If no candidate obtains more than 50% of the vote, a second round would be held two weeks later, on May 18. It is still unclear whether Georgescu will be able to participate in the new elections.

Georgescu has since challenged the court’s decision before a local appeals court and filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights.

The published decision of the Constitutional Court to annul the elections cited the illegal use of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, as well as the use of “undeclared sources” of financing. Georgescu had declared zero campaign spending.

Many observers attributed Georgescu’s success to his TikTok account, which now has 7.2 million likes and 646,000 followers. Some experts suspected that Georgescu’s online following was artificially inflated, while Romania’s main security body alleged that it was received preferential treatment from TikTok about other candidates.

On Friday, thousands of people attended another protest in Bucharest and also expressed their anger over the cancellation of the presidential race.