US Concerned about Potential Interference in Romanian Election

FILE PHOTO: Independent far-right candidate Calin Georgescu casts his vote on the day of the parliamentary election, in Mogosoaia, Romania, December 1, 2024. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo

The United States voiced concern about Romania's presidential election following the declassification of documents showing the NATO member state was a target of "aggressive hybrid Russian attacks" during a period of three consecutive ballots.
Having previously polled in single digits, pro-Russia ultranationalist Calin Georgescu surged to victory in the first presidential election round on Nov. 24, a major surprise in a country on the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union.
Documents declassified by Romania's top security council on Wednesday showed Georgescu was massively promoted on social media platform TikTok through coordinated accounts, recommendation algorithms and paid promotion.
The US State Department said Washington is concerned about the council's report "of Russian involvement in malign cyber activity designed to influence the integrity of the Romanian electoral process".
"Romania’s hard-earned progress anchoring itself in the transatlantic community cannot be turned back by foreign actors seeking to shift Romania’s foreign policy away from its Western alliances," it said in a statement.
"Any such change would have serious negative impacts on US security cooperation with Romania, while a decision to restrict foreign investment would discourage US companies from continuing to invest in Romania."
Georgescu, 62, is a far-right, self-styled outsider who says he will end Romanian aid to Ukraine against Russia's invasion and says he considers Russian President Vladimir Putin a true leader and patriot.
Romanians will vote in the presidential election runoff on Sunday that could see Georgescu defeat pro-European centrist Elena Lasconi, according to analysts and diplomats.