FILE PHOTO: Young people protest against the far-right presidential candidate Calin Georgescu, who entered the run-off of the presidential elections, in Bucharest, Romania, November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu/File Photo
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's presidential election first round could be rerun if the country's top court decides to annul the vote that took place on Nov. 24, the head of the country's electoral commission said on Friday.
Toni Grebla told Radio Romania Actualitati that a rerun could take place on Dec. 15, with a runoff vote on Dec. 29.
A conservative candidate, Cristian Terhes, has appealed to the court to annul the vote. On Thursday the court ordered a recount of the 9.46 million votes cast in the first round before it reconvenes at 1200 GMT on Friday to consider the request.
Election officials have said it is not possible to tally the votes quickly enough to complete the recount before the hearing.
Authorities have said they had evidence of meddling in the campaign by hostile actors. Nevertheless, a court case that contemplates reversing the first round vote risks triggering a crisis by undermining citizens' faith in state institutions.
Independent far-right politician Calin Georgescu, 62, who polled in single digits before the vote, surged to a victory that has raised questions over how such a surprise could have been possible.
The country's Supreme Defence Council said it had evidence of interference, that Romania was a target for hostile actors such as Russia, and that TikTok had given one candidate more exposure and had not forced him to label content as political.
TikTok rejected the accusations. Russia has in the past denied interfering in foreign elections.
Romania, a country that has been pro-Western and a staunch ally of Ukraine, is also due to hold a parliamentary election on Sunday, followed a week later by the run-off between Georgescu and centrist contender Elena Lasconi.
Grebla told Reuters on Thursday that the Dec. 1 parliamentary election will go ahead as planned despite the uncertainty generated by the recount of the first round of the presidential vote.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie, Writing by Alan Charlish)
