Romania's Constitutional Court has unanimously rejected a challenge to the results of last week's presidential election by the losing ultranationalist candidate George Simion, saying his request was "unfounded."
Simion had challenged the result saying -- without presenting any evidence -- that foreign states such as France had "bought votes" by directing funds to Moldova and that some of the ballots cast in Romania that went to centrist, pro-EU, and pro-Ukraine, Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan -- who won the runoff with just under 54 percent -- were fraudulent.
In a statement issued on May 22, the Constitutional Court said that 'within the scope of its authority regarding compliance with the procedure for the election" it had reviewed Simion's complaint regarding the May 18 runoff and "unanimously, rejected the request to annul the elections as unfounded."
Romania has been roiled by political turmoil since November, when Calin Georgescu, a pro-Russian nationalist seen as a fringe candidate, pulled off a surprise win in the first round of voting.
However, authorities annulled the results amid accusations of a Russian influence campaign to boost his candidacy. Georgescu was banned from running in the new elections, and a raft of new rules were introduced for the rerun, whose first round of voting took place on May 4.
Dan’s election victory on May 18 was a further surprise as he didn't even run in the first attempt held in November last year, having only recently begun a second term at the City Hall in Bucharest.
Simion, an outspoken supporter of US President Donald Trump and the leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), has promoted reunifying Romania and neighboring Moldova, along with halting military aid to Ukraine.
Known for his fiery speeches and the fact that he was once an active soccer hooligan, he was banned in 2024 from entering Ukraine for three years for what Kyiv called "systematic anti-Ukrainian activities" while Moldova has called him a national-security threat and barred him from entering the country as well.
