Election chaos in Romania: influence and media competence in focus!

Election chaos in Romania: influence and media competence in focus!

On June 28, 2025, a hybrid discussion event entitled “Round Table on European Democracy” took place at the University of Passau. The focus of the discussion was the analysis of the Romanian presidential election, presented by Professor Dr. Melania-Gabriela Ciot from the Universitatea Babes-Bolyai in Romania. The election, which took place in May 2025, attracted great European interest, particularly because of its turbulent history.

In the election, Nicușor Dan, independent mayor of Bucharest, won against the candidate of the right-wing extremist “Alliance for the Unification of Romanians”. This election result was particularly remarkable because the election had previously been annulled - in 2024 - by the Romanian Constitutional Court. The reasons for this decision included, among other things, the lack of labeling of election advertising on TikTok and the unequal treatment of candidates.

Background to the cancellation

How Small newspaper reported, the Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election on December 6, 2024 and ordered a full repeat. The government had to set a new date for the election. The first round of the election was won by pro-Russian right-wing extremist Călin Georgescu, but the court took action due to suspected Russian interference in the electoral process.

A few days before the runoff election, Georgescu was scheduled to face the pro-European candidate Elena Lasconi. In a poll, Lasconi was only slightly ahead of Georgescu, which made the situation more exciting. However, Georgescu's reach on TikTok grew disproportionately in the run-up to the election, with inactive "sleeper" accounts used to support his campaign. According to the Romanian domestic intelligence agency SRI, over 25,000 such accounts were identified during the election campaign period.

International reactions and regulation

The 2025 elections took place in a tense national and international context. The EU Commission responded to the events surrounding the election and increased its monitoring of TikTok under the Digital Services Act (DSA). Loud EU representation in Germany A “preservation order” was imposed on TikTok to freeze and store data about systemic risks to electoral processes.

Henna Virkkunen, Vice President of the European Commission, underlined the importance of this order to support the investigation. TikTok is required to retain internal documents and information about its recommendation systems and the risks of intentional manipulation. These measures are part of broader efforts to ensure that the integrity of democratic processes within the EU is maintained, particularly in the context of feared foreign interference.

During the event, Professor Ciot emphasized the need to strengthen citizens' media literacy in order to prevent influence from third countries. Regulations of large online platforms and search engines remain an important issue for Romanian society, which is increasingly facing the challenges of digital information dissemination.

Finally, the discussion also highlighted the strategic partnership between Romania and Germany in the areas of defense, energy and economic policy as well as the implementation of the European Green Deal. It became clear that Romania needs to set its own political priorities in order to successfully participate in European politics.