The Guardian view on Romania’s annulled election: a wake-up call for democracies | Editorial

The social media-driven success of a pro-Putin candidate confirmed the extent to which Russia's hybrid warfare tactics are now a threat

Famously, 2024 has been the biggest election year in history, featuring polls in 72 countries affecting 3.7billion people. In Romania, sadly, it is now destined to be remembered as a year in which democracy was derailed rather than celebrated.

The unprecedented move by the country's constitutional court last week to annul the results of the first round of the presidential election, amid allegations of Russian interference, is a landmark moment in the increasingly embattled arena of eastern European politics. The decision followed an astonishing surge to first place by a far-right admirer of Vladimir Putin, who had been polling in low single digits until the eve of the election. According to declassified intelligence reports, Clin Georgescu benefited from a vote that was manipulated by various illicit means, including cyber-attacks and a Russian-funded TikTok campaign. Analysts found that about 25,000 pro-Georgescu TikTok accounts became active only two weeks before the first-round vote.