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Romania sets May date for new presidential election | Elections News


The first round will be held on May 4, with the second on May 18 if a candidate in the first round does not win more than 50 percent.

Romania's coalition government has announced it will hold a new presidential election in May, after December's vote was shockingly canceled amid claims of Russian meddling.

A cabinet meeting on Thursday approved the ruling party's proposal to have a new presidential vote.

The first round will be held on May 4, with the second on May 18 if a candidate in the first round does not win more than 50 percent of the vote.

The European Union and the NATO state, which borders Ukraine, were invaded institutional chaos last year when Calin Georgescu, an unknown pro-Russian politician, won the presidential first round on November 24.

Officials in Romania said Georgescu benefited from a massive social media campaign led by TikTok, which gave him favorable treatment, allegations the platform has denied.

Amid suspicions of Russian interference – denied by Moscow – Romania's top court annulled the ballot and ordered the government to run it again in its entirety.

The European Commission last month also opened formal proceedings against TikTok over its alleged failure to prevent electoral fraud, particularly in the Romanian vote.

Georgescu has dismissed the vote as a “formal coup d'etat”.

Tens of thousands of Romanians took to the streets Sunday in Bucharest in the second protest last week against the cancellation of the original vote. The far-right party of the Federation for the Union of Romanians (AUR) had called the protest.

They asked President Klaus Iohannis to resign, a liberal who has remained in office until his successor is elected.

On Thursday, the government, led by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, issued an order stating that campaign materials before the next presidential vote must be clearly marked as election content and identify their supporters.

Social media platforms will also have to take down content that doesn't follow the rules within five hours of a request from Romanian election officials or face a hefty fine of between 1 percent and 5 percent of their turnover.

Romanian rights groups, however, have criticized the government for not consulting the public before issuing the decree, warning that the new rules did not address real campaign finance issues.



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