Romania's far-right Georgescu denounces cancelled vote outside closed polling station

Romania’s defiant far-right presidential candidate, Călin Georgescu, stood outside a closed polling station on Sunday in protest of the country's top court’s unprecedented decision to annul the first round of the vote in which he emerged as the frontrunner.

The Constitutional Court cancelled the election on Friday after a trove of declassified intelligence alleged Russia organised a sprawling campaign across social media to promote Georgescu.

“Today is Constitution Day and there is nothing constitutional in Romania anymore. I am here in the name of democracy,” Georgescu told media in Mogosoaia, outside Bucharest.

“By cancelling democracy, our very freedom is cancelled.”

The court cited the illegal use of digital technologies including artificial intelligence, as well as undeclared sources of funding. Without naming Georgescu, the court said one candidate received “preferential treatment" on social media platforms, distorting voters’ expressed will.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said in a statement marking Constitution Day on Sunday that “We find ourselves in a moment of profound responsibility toward the values that characterise us as a nation.”

“The Romanian Constitution defines the framework within which the state and political life operate, serving as a shield against threats to democracy,” he said.

“In turbulent times, state institutions are called upon to act with calm, wisdom and respect for the law, the Constitution and democracy.”

George Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, told reporters outside a closed polling station in Bucharest on Sunday that the annulment amounted to an attack against democracy, saying Iohannis should “take a step back and respect the