The United States has raised concerns over potential foreign interference in Romania’s presidential election, following the declassification of documents suggesting the country faced “aggressive hybrid Russian attacks” during a series of recent ballots.
Calin Georgescu, a pro-Russia ultranationalist, stunned observers by surging from single-digit polling numbers to a victory in the first round of Romania’s presidential election on November 24. His unexpected success has drawn scrutiny, particularly as new evidence reveals coordinated efforts to boost his campaign on social media platforms like TikTok.
Documents declassified by Romania’s top security council on Wednesday showed Georgescu’s campaign benefited from extensive promotion through coordinated TikTok accounts, recommendation algorithms, and paid ads, despite his declaration of zero campaign spending. Additionally, the council identified compromised login data on Romanian election websites and over 85,000 cyberattacks during the election period, which it linked to a foreign state.
The US State Department issued a statement expressing concern about the findings, particularly the implications of Russian involvement. “Romania’s hard-earned progress anchoring itself in the transatlantic community cannot be turned back by foreign actors seeking to shift Romania’s foreign policy away from its Western alliances,” the statement read. The US warned that any pivot from Romania’s Western orientation could harm bilateral security cooperation and discourage American investment.
The European Commission has also acted, issuing a retention order to TikTok to preserve data related to potential risks to electoral processes and civic discourse across the EU. The order covers elections from November 2024 to March 2025 and includes measures to address systematic violations of TikTok’s terms of service, particularly around the monetization of political content.
TikTok has denied giving preferential treatment to Georgescu but acknowledged removing suspect account networks after the first election round. Russia has previously denied involvement in Romanian elections.
The controversy comes as an AtlasIntel poll predicts Georgescu could defeat centrist Elena Lasconi in the December 8 presidential runoff, with a narrow 47%-43% lead. However, the poll also indicated that 57% of Romanians trust Lasconi over Georgescu to maintain Romania’s EU and NATO alignment.
Georgescu, 62, has positioned himself as a far-right outsider, critical of NATO and EU policies. He has pledged to halt Romanian aid to Ukraine and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “true leader.” Analysts warn that a Georgescu victory would isolate Romania internationally and reverse its pro-European trajectory.
In a parallel development, Romania’s pro-European parties, which gained parliamentary seats in a December 1 vote, have agreed to form a governing coalition aimed at marginalizing far-right factions.
Romania’s stock market reflected the growing uncertainty, with Bucharest’s blue-chip index dropping 0.5% on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session.
