Călin Georgescu, who was looking set to win the Romanian elections until the country’s top court annulled the result of the first round of November 24, said those judges deserved to be locked up in jail.
Speaking in a video to his followers on social media on December 16, the hard-right presidential candidate said they would not “find refuge in hell” if they did not fix what he called their “mistake”.
“Honourable judges of the Constitutional Court, have you broken your oath? With the decision you made on December 6th, have you not, in fact, sworn falsely?” Georgescu said.
“Do you want God to help you – as stated in the magistrates’ oath? Then correct your mistake so that people may regain trust in the fair judgment of institutions; otherwise, not even in hell will you find refuge!
“I warn you that you risk paying for the annulled votes with many years in prison – and do not forget that no one is above the law, not even you, especially you, who were supposed to protect the law, not condemn it unjustly!
“Reverse this erroneous decision and immediately correct the injustice done to this nation; this is my message to you! God is one, do not think yourselves His equals!”
His warning came after Romania’s High Court of Cassation and Justice declined his request for the annulment of the Central Electoral Bureau’s decision to resume the elections.
The Biden administration warned Romania’s election issues could affect its Western ties and investments before the ballot was annulled. https://t.co/SuAs8Cvliz
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) December 17, 2024
On December 10, Georgescu warned that if Romanian democracy were to fall, the entire world democratic system would be at risk.
He said Romania was part of the European Union, NATO and one of the most important allies of the US in Eastern Europe.
He also claimed that if the international community remained indifferent and merely watched the political spectacle unfolding in Romania, it would set a dangerous precedent: A constitutional court overriding the people’s vote in favour of politicians.
This, Georgescu warned, would mark the “end of democracy as we know it worldwide”.
The hard-right populist entered the elections as a little-known independent candidate but, surprisingly to many, came out on top after the first round of the presidential ballot.
Georgescu scored 23 per cent of the first round vote, beating his Liberal and Socialist opponents who each got 19 per cent. Only the first two candidates go on to the second round of voting in Romania.
In Romania’s first round of presidential elections, hard-right populist Călin Georgescu, previously a little-known candidate, has surprised observers by taking the lead. https://t.co/HWycV9YL1q
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) November 25, 2024
His win caused consternation among the Romanian establishment who regarded him as him too right-wing.
On December 6, Romania’s top court annulled the result of the first round, adding that the entire election process would have to be rerun.
Despite there being no trace found of fraud or vote rigging, documents declassified by Romania’s top security council on December 4 claimed the country was a target of “aggressive hybrid Russian attacks” during the election period.
Georgescu’s campaign had been allegedly promoted by “Russian influence” and “bots” were reportedly extensively used to boost his popularity on social media platform TikTok.
On December 7, a day after the Constitutional Court’s move and before the planned final round on December 9, authorities searched several properties in an investigation into alleged illegal financing of his election campaign.
Documents released thus far have not revealed why the authorities did not alert the general public to what they viewed as a “Russian influence” campaign before the first round of voting or whether they took any measures to counter it.
TikTok has denied giving Georgescu special treatment, saying his account was labelled as a political one and treated like any other such.
No date or timetable has been set for new elections.
COMMENT: @GElefteriu notes how breaking legal norms to “save” the state, as seen in Romania’s election annulment and Cicero’s actions against Catiline in Ancient Rome, often undermines the very systems they aim to protect. https://t.co/ycIjNPSlcJ
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) December 12, 2024
