Far-right presidential candidate Catalin Georgescu (C) addressed the media upon his arrival at a protest against the annulment of the presidential elections outside a voting station in Mogosoaia, near Bucharest, on Sunday. AFP

The Romanian far-right presidential candidate, who has been embroiled in a scandal involving Russian electoral interference, appeared at the location where he would have cast his vote on Sunday, asserting that the Constitutional Court's decision to cancel the ballot was a fatal blow to democracy. The court annulled the ongoing presidential election following allegations of Russian meddling, and on Friday, it ruled that the entire process, which was scheduled to conclude this weekend, would need to be re-run. Russia has denied any involvement in the process.

The second round of voting on Sunday would have seen Calin Georgescu, a far-right, pro-Russian candidate who led in the first round, compete against pro-European Union centrist leader Elena Lasconi. On Sunday morning, Georgescu was met by a throng of supporters and journalists at the school where he would have voted.

"We shall proceed in a democratic manner," Georgescu said in English. "I call for peace and for the restoration of our democracy, as democracy was effectively cancelled by the court."

In a letter dated December 7 and posted on the social media platform X late on Saturday, Lasconi expressed her concerns to US President-elect Donald Trump, stating that she feared democracy was at risk. "For the past 35 years, we have had democracy, but the government and corrupt politicians have failed to deliver for the Romanian people," she wrote. "I worry that we have only 15 years left—perhaps even less—before we face a dictatorship."

A victory for Georgescu in the presidency would significantly alter Romania's pro-Western political stance, bringing the EU and NATO member closer to central and eastern European states with populist, Russia-friendly leaders, such as Hungary, Slovakia, and Austria. Georgescu advocates for ending Romania's support for Ukraine as its defense against Russia's invasion enters its fourth year in February.

Sorin Scuratovschi, 46, a supporter of Georgescu, condemned the court's ruling as "totally unfair" and "an assault on democracy." While both Georgescu and Lasconi criticized the decision to cancel the election, Social Democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu supported the move on Friday, labeling it "the only correct solution."

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