Loser of Romanian elections alleges French interference, demands new elections

The Romanian right-wing eurosceptic George Simion has asked the constitutional court to annul the results of the presidential elections he lost. According to Simion, there is evidence of foreign interference by France and Moldova, and therefore the entire election process should be repeated. He did not specify what evidence he has, but France has previously denied the allegations.

Simion lost last Sunday to the pro-European mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan. Simion had received the most votes in the first round, but in the second round, where only two candidates remained, he was defeated. Simion acknowledged his loss in the night from Sunday to Monday but is now retracting that acknowledgment.

'Neither France nor Moldova nor anyone else has the right to interfere in the elections of another country,' Simion wrote on X.

In December, the first round of the presidential elections was annulled due to Russian interference. The constitutional court ruled at the time that the pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu had benefited from an extensive campaign on TikTok allegedly run by Russians. Georgescu was excluded from participating in the new elections.

Simion now claims it is 'exactly the same reasons as in December,' but 'this time with evidence.' He did not share details, but he may be referring to statements by Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, who claimed that the French intelligence service had asked him to censor conservative messages in Romania.

France has previously denied the allegations of interference.