Romanian court rejects hard-right candidate’s challenge to election result

A top Romanian court has rejected as unfounded a request to annul the country’s presidential election by the hard-right candidate who decisively lost the race to his pro-European Union opponent.

After deliberations on Thursday, Romania’s Constitutional Court unanimously rejected the annulment request, filed on Tuesday by George Simion.

Mr Simion had alleged that foreign interference and coordinated manipulation affected the vote.

The 38-year-old leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians had conceded defeat on Sunday after losing in the runoff to Nicusor Dan, the Bucharest mayor who obtained 53.6% of the vote, a margin of more than 829,000 votes.

After the court announced its decision, Mr Simion said in a post on Facebook that the Court “has continued the coup”.

“We have no choice but to fight!,” his post read. “I call on you to stand with me, today and in the coming weeks!”

Sunday’s tense vote was held months after the same court voided the previous election in which the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu led the first round, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied.

In his request to annul the vote, Mr Simion claimed he had “irrefutable evidence” that France, Moldova and “other actors” meddled in the ballot, but did not present any evidence.

He also alleged that “deceased people” had participated in the vote.

The court said its decision is final.