Today, Klaus Iohannis handed over the Presidency of Romania to the President of the Senate, Ilie Bolojan, in the latest development of a monthslong political drama with massive ramifications for the EU and rule of law. Romania’s presidency had been in dispute since Romania's Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of the presidential election in December, citing substantial evidence of foreign interference. This unprecedented decision has made Romania a focal point in the battle against Russian hybrid warfare. The European Commission also initiated an investigation into TikTok's role to assess whether the platform breached the EU Digital Services Act.

This analysis delves into both the factual and political underpinnings of the Romanian court’s decision, including its determination that voters were misled by the intervention of a state actor, and that one candidate enjoyed aggressive, artificial promotion that far surpassed his peers. It further explores the effects of Romania’s current state of political limbo, the persistent threat to the Romanian elections even after the decision to annul the previous results, and the overlap between this case and similar allegations of Russian electoral interference in Moldova and Georgia.

Download the full article to understand how this event has highlighted exploitable vulnerabilities in Europe’s elections, and the benefits and drawbacks of countering state-actor interference through lawfare.