The Constitutional Court of Romania has ordered a recount of all the votes of the first round of the presidential elections, to exclude suspicions of fraud, reports “The Guardian”. The election was won by a little-known far-right candidate, causing great surprise. The court said on Thursday that it has unanimously decided to order Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau to “review and recount all valid and invalid ballots.”
Sunday’s election was won by ultranationalist Calin Georgescu, a man known to be close to Russia. The Romanian website “Digi24.ro” has reported that the Constitutional Court’s decision is related to an allegation of fraud regarding the votes given to the center-right candidate, Elena Lasconi, who came second in the election.
She is scheduled to face Georgescu in a run-off on December 8, after Sunday’s parliamentary elections. The appeal had asked the Constitutional Court to annul all the results of the first round of elections, something that will be decided at a meeting on Friday. Another complaint alleging electoral fraud against Georgescutt was rejected on the grounds that it was filed late.
The Central Election Bureau is expected to discuss the decision tonight, but the chairman, Toni Grebla, has told the Romanian media that after receiving the official request, it will take several days to recount the nearly 9.5 million votes.