BUCHAREST: George Simion, the defeated nationalist candidate in Romania's presidential election, said Tuesday he was asking the constitutional court to cancel the vote, alleging foreign interference, including by France.
Nicusor Dan, the centrist mayor of Bucharest, won almost 54 percent of the vote to beat Simion, leader of the far-right AUR party and an admirer of US President Donald Trump.
Simion conceded defeat, congratulating Dan on his win, after the votes were counted Sunday.
But in an about-turn Tuesday, he announced his decision to contest the results.
“I officially ask (the) Constitutional Court to annul Romanian presidential elections,“ he posted on X, citing “external interferences by state and non-state actors”. He included in the message icons for the flags of France and Moldova.
Neither country “nor anyone else has the right to interfere in the elections of another state,“ he said, calling the election a “farce”.
Telegram accusation
Online, supporters have posted numerous comments blaming “the system” for “stealing” Simion’s victory.
Simion said on Tuesday that he congratulated Dan because of the official result and to discourage people from going to protest. “I never want to see bloodshed in our country,“ he said.
He added he saw “little chance” the court would grant his request.
Simion has repeatedly alleged electoral fraud, without giving any evidence.
Last Friday on a visit to Paris, where he met French far-right European parliament member Marion Marechal, he accused French President Emmanuel Macron of interference.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov claimed on Sunday that the chief of France's foreign intelligence service, Nicolas Lerner, had requested the tech mogul ban pro-conservative Romanian accounts from the platform ahead of the election.
France's foreign intelligence service rejected the claims.
But Simion said he wanted the Romanian court to let Durov testify.
“I’m ready to come and testify if it helps Romanian democracy,“ Durov wrote on X.
Last year's annulled vote
Sunday's ballot came five months after Romania's constitutional court annulled an election over allegations of Russian interference and the massive social media promotion of the far-right frontrunner, who was not allowed to stand again.
Tens of thousands protested the vote annulment, with top US officials also criticising the move.
For the May vote, Dan, 55, and Simion, 38, campaigned on platforms of change, tapping into voter frustration with a political class widely deemed corrupt.
Unlike the pro-European Union Dan, an independent who promised an “honest” Romania, Simion slammed the EU’s “absurd policies” and vowed to stop aid to neighbouring war-torn Ukraine.
Romania's president appoints key posts, such as the prime minister, and has significant sway in foreign policy, including representing the country at NATO and EU summits.
The election turmoil has increased economic uncertainty in the EU's most indebted country, which is grappling with high inflation.
