Former presidential candidate Calin Georgescu and Romania's annulled vote - video Dailymotion

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00:00It was a moment that sparked the country's worst political crisis in decades.

00:05Romania's Constitutional Court annulled its presidential election on December 6th,

00:10citing allegations of Russian interference in favour of far-right candidate Killeen Georgescu,

00:16who immediately decried the decision as anti-democratic.

00:20Today's constitutional court ruling is more than a legal controversy.

00:26It's basically a formalized coup d'etat.

00:30The call was made after declassified documents revealed illegal campaign financing on TikTok,

00:38pointing to 25,000 pro-Georgescu accounts that became highly active two weeks before the election,

00:45including 800 which he allegedly helped set up,

00:48as well as paid social media influences and cyber attacks coming from external forces.

00:55Georgescu had won the first-round ballot and was set to go head-to-head in the runoff

00:59with pro-Western alternative Eleanor Lasconi.

01:02At the time, Lasconi was tipped just ahead in the polls,

01:05and she too condemned the court's decision.

01:08The constitutional court decision is illegal, immoral,

01:11and crushes the very essence of democracy, the vote.

01:15In January, new elections were scheduled for May,

01:18but it didn't stop the escalation of anti-government protests that had consumed Bucharest.

01:23Many viewed Georgescu as a martyred hero,

01:27and he also garnered support from international far-right figures,

01:30including U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance.

01:34A criminal case was opened.

01:35Georgescu was detained and charged on six counts,

01:39including anti-constitutional acts and misreporting his finances.

01:43After a legal tussle, ultimately he was barred from running for president in the election.

Former presidential candidate Calin Georgescu and Romania's annulled vote

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