BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romania’s ruling coalition agreed on Wednesday to rerun a two-round presidential election on May 4 and May 18 and stuck to an original plan to endorse a single candidate, the Liberal Party, one of the three coalition parties, said.
Three consecutive ballots to elect a new president and parliament in the European Union and NATO state descended into chaos when Calin Georgescu, a little-known far-right, pro-Russian politician, won the first presidential round on Nov. 24.
Amid suspicions of Russian interference, the top court annulled the presidential election and ordered the new coalition government to rerun it in its entirety.
Romania’s outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis, will stay on as head of state until the May election.
The new government will approve the calendar for the new ballot on Monday, the Liberals said.
The coalition parties say they agreed to back a single presidential candidate to prevent the far right from winning. Their candidate is Crin Antonescu, a former Liberal leader, though analysts say they may yet switch to backing somebody else.
In Romania’s Dec. 1 parliamentary election, three ultranationalist and hard-right parties won roughly 35% of seats in the new legislature amid public anger with infighting and corruption allegations in the mainstream parties.
Multiple crises including the COVID pandemic and Russia’s war in neighbouring Ukraine have also sapped support among Romanian voters for the more established, centrist parties.
Romania’s president has a semi-executive role that includes commanding the armed forces and chairing the council that decides on military aid and defence spending.
The president also represents Romania at EU and NATO summits and appoints chief judges, prosecutors and secret service heads.
The increased support for far-right parties is a concern for Romania’s NATO allies.
Since Russia launched its full-blown invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022, Romania has helped export millions of tons of Ukrainian grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta, trained Ukrainian fighter pilots and donated a Patriot air defence battery to Kyiv.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Gareth Jones)
