The Romanian state owes its people an “explanation” after the decision to annul the country’s 2024 presidential election in December, the lead pro-European Union candidate has said.
Elena Lasconi, the pro-Western candidate who came second overall in the election’s first round, took to social media on January 6 to accuse Romanian officials of being too slow to present the public with detailed reasons as to why the ballot was cancelled.
“Even today, we don’t know exactly why!,” she wrote on Facebook.
Lasconi added that the Romanian Constitutional Court’s decision to axe the vote had “divided” the country. Some saw it as a necessary move due to reports of Russian interference via TikTok, she said, while others regarded it as “contrary to democracy”.
Authorities have so far failed to provide evidence backing reports regarding the Kremlin’s involvement.
“Regardless of what we think about the [court’s] decision, we ALL agree on one thing: The Romanian State owes us answers and it hasn’t given them even after a month. We need to know WHY the elections were cancelled,” Lasconi wrote.
“If something so serious happened that a presidential election was cancelled, how come no one is guilty of anything? How come we don’t have people responsible for this?”
“[Incumbent president] Klaus Iohannis and those at the top of the Romanian state owe us explanations,” she added.
The issue of Romania’s annulled presidential election is to be heard at the European Court of Human Rights, media in the country has reported. https://t.co/EebJQdrH4U
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 2, 2025
Lasconi also expressed frustration at there not having been a new date set for elections. She said when she met government officials regarding the issue, they focused more on trying to stop her from running again than stating when the next vote was going to happen.
“I wonder why, given that every time I stood face to face with [Prime Minister] Marcel Ciolacu and [Senate President] Ilie Bolojan, they clearly said that these elections are a priority for Romania. They asked me to withdraw from this race. That was, in fact, their priority!,” she claimed.
Initial reports before the Christmas holiday period had indicated that authorities were planning to hold the first round again on March 23, with the second set for April 6. They have failed to ratify these dates, with some saying it could be as late as May before the first round was held again.
Bolojan rejected Lasconi’s criticisms, suggesting she should not be attacking him and his government colleagues online considering she ultimately wants their support.
“I have tried all these years not to curse someone for free and then ask them the next day to support me or respect me,” he said.
“There will be some candidates who will run in the first round, some of whom will enter the second round. Does it help us to eliminate each other for free when the one who will not enter the second round will have to give votes to the one who enters the second round?”
“Maybe Ms Lasconi is thinking about how she proceeded to contact Marcel Ciolacu to support her in the second round in those two weeks,” he added.
The ruling coalition has also been having issues with its lead candidate, Crin Antonescu. He was initially reported to be abandoning his candidacy in the election “unilaterally” over the alleged failure of some of the ruling parties to ratify him.
He has since clarified he did intend to take part in the race, claiming he was saying he just wanted to step down from being the official coalition candidate for the top job.
“I have said nothing other than that I am suspending the agreement between me, a joint candidate designated by a political act, and my partners, until we clarify two things: The date of the presidential elections and the commitment of the political forces that proposed me as a joint candidate, or not, in this endeavour,” he said.
“I have put all the steps on hold until things are clear.”
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
