Romania’s highest court overturned the first round of its presidential election on Friday, following revelations of a suspected Russian-backed online campaign to boost the far-right candidate, Calin Georgescu, who had unexpectedly won.

This unprecedented, final ruling by the Constitutional Court followed President Klaus Iohannis’s release of intelligence data on Wednesday. The declassified information, sourced from Romania’s intelligence agencies, detailed a vast social media operation using thousands of accounts across platforms like TikTok and Telegram to promote Georgescu.

Despite lacking significant campaign funds and being a political newcomer, Georgescu secured the most votes on November 24th. He was slated to face Elena Lasconi in a runoff election this Sunday.

A new date for the first round will be set.

Lasconi strongly criticized the court’s decision, denouncing it as “illegal, immoral, and destructive to democracy,” arguing that the 9 million votes cast should have been respected. She expressed confidence in her own eventual victory.

She argued that the matter of Russian interference should have been addressed after the election concluded.

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu declared the annulment the only appropriate response to the intelligence findings, stating that the election results were significantly compromised.

He called for a re-run of the election and a full investigation into the interference attempt.

Last week, the same court ordered a recount of the first-round votes, adding to the numerous controversies surrounding the election.

Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, described the court’s action as a “crisis” for Romanian democracy, questioning the country’s ability to handle such interference.

Thirteen candidates competed in the first round of the presidential election. The Romanian president holds significant power in national security, foreign policy, and judicial appointments, serving a five-year term.

Georgescu’s unexpected success surprised many, given pre-election polls that placed him considerably lower than several other candidates.

Many attributed his success to his popular TikTok account, which boasts millions of likes and hundreds of thousands of followers. However, suspicions exist that his online presence was artificially inflated, with allegations of preferential treatment from TikTok.

Intelligence reports allege that a single TikTok user spent over $381,000 to promote Georgescu’s content, describing an aggressive campaign to boost his popularity.

When questioned about TikTok’s potential threat to democracy, Georgescu stated that social media is crucial for promoting free speech.