The Constitutional Court decided unanimously to cancel the presidential elections, according to an official statement. The electoral process for the election of the President of Romania will be restarted from the beginning, so the Government will set a new date for the two rounds of voting, in which new candidates, validated by the Central Electoral Bureau, will participate.
The decision was welcomed by the PSD president. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, a PSD presidential candidate, said the CCR’s decision on the cancellation of the presidential elections “is the only correct solution”. “The presidential elections must be resumed. […] At the same time, the authorities’ investigations must show who the culprits are for the attempt to massively influence the outcome of the presidential election. Romanians need clear answers from the authorities, based on solid evidence, because public confidence in state institutions and in the democratic processes that underpin the functioning of the country depends fundamentally on this investigation. Now, it is extremely important to validate the mandates of the new Parliament and to realise a pro-European parliamentary majority, which will support the swift appointment of a new government, whose priority is to continue Romania’s European development path”, Marcel Ciolacu said.
The President of the Senate, Liberal Nicolae Ciucă, called for calm and unity. “The Constitutional Court’s decision to cancel the first round of the presidential elections is unprecedented in Romania’s democratic history. At such an important moment, it is essential that we show calm, unity and maturity, putting the interests of the country and the defence of democratic values at the forefront,” said Ciucă, a former candidate of the National Liberal Party.
On the other hand, Elena Lasconi, USR’s presidential candidate, harshly criticised on Friday the CCR’s decision to annul the presidential elections and called it “illegal”. “The Romanian state has trampled on democracy. God, the Romanian people, truth and law will prevail. You are leading the country into anarchy. We should have gone ahead with the vote,” she said.
“I know I would have won. And I will win because the Romanian people know that I will fight for them, that I will unite them for a better Romania. I will defend our democracy. I will not give up,” she added.
GOLD representatives found themselves in a close position. “SHAME!!! Coup in full swing! We are not taking to the streets, we will not be challenged, this system must fall democratically!”, George Simion, president and AUR candidate, posted on Facebook.
CCR judges have received several requests to annul the elections in recent days, amid the declassification of information from the secret services, which indicated Russian interference in the elections. The reasoning of the Constitutional Court will be presented in the judgement to be published in the Official Journal of Romania.
The Constitutional Court’s decision prolongs the political uncertainty for at least three months and significantly complicates the negotiations to form a parliamentary coalition and install a functioning government.