Description: Romania’s Constitutional Court has unanimously rejected the appeal filed by defeated presidential candidate George Simion. Simion appealed the election rerun results under allegations of foreign interference from France and Moldova, which reportedly blocked conservative media campaigns and were heavily involved in tampering with the election results by falsifying votes. The Constitutional Court has labeled the allegations as baseless in absence of any concrete evidence and is set to validate the results of the election. Simion took to social media after the Court’s decision, calling for support from his voters as he labeled the Court’s decision as suffocation of democracy and suppressing the sovereign will of the Romanian people. Winning candidate Nicusor Dan has pledged to realign the country within its European strategic orientation and continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Impact: Romania is facing a reprisal of the constitutional crisis precipitated by the ousting of the previous far – right presidential candidate Calin Georgescu. The annulment of foreign interference allegations by the Constitutional Court may cause an uprise within the far – right movement in the country as Simion has openly called for his supporters to fight and contest the decision. Romania is yet to surpass the deadlock caused by the election controversies as the country faces mounting pressure from its debt deficit and aims to reposition itself on Europe’s eastern flank as a key ally reinforcing the bloc’s continental aspirations. Simion’s call for contesting the decision have so far fallen flat but may spur a larger social reaction which would be followed by protests and civil unrest, threatening the country’s internal stability.