DISINFO: The US and EU only support democratic elections when the winner aligns with their interests
SUMMARY
The West does not acknowledge democratic elections whenever the winning candidate does not want to sell out its country to US and European interests. This is the case of Georgia and Romania, where there is talk of electoral fraud without there being any evidence. Russian interference allegedly took place through TikTok despite the fact that Western soft power is more dominant.
RESPONSE
Claims about a foreign hand in Georgia’s demonstrations are unsubstantiated. Georgia has been experiencing large-scale protests since the Georgian government proposed the so-called "foreign agents" bill in 2023, requiring media and NGOs receiving over 20% of their funding from abroad to declare themselves as "foreign agents" or face substantial fines. The bill's subsequent approval, in conjunction with claims of electroal fraud in the October 2024 parliamentary election and the government’s suspension of Georgia’s EU membership bid all sparked fresh waves of street protests. (See EUvsDisinfo's articles on “Georgia: Resilience in action” and “Georgia: The next colour revolution?”)
Romanian 2024 election annulment
On December 6, 2024, Romania's Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of the 2024 presidential election, which had taken place on November 24. This unprecedented decision came just days before the scheduled run-off between Călin Georgescu and Elena Lasconi. The court's ruling was primarily based on allegations of significant Russian interference in the electoral process, particularly through social media platforms like TikTok, which allegedly favoured Georgescu's campaign. The court's decision was prompted by declassified intelligence reports by the Romanian security services, which indicated that there had been a coordinated campaign to manipulate public perception and sway the electoral outcome in favour of Georgescu. These reports highlighted a mass influence operation that bore similarities to tactics used by Russia in other Eastern European nations.
The annulment was a domestic judicial decision grounded in concerns for electoral integrity and legality. The Romanian Constitutional Court acted upon multiple legal challenges that cited these intelligence disclosures as justification for nullifying the election results. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu supported this decision, stating it was necessary to uphold the democratic process and ensure that Romanian voters were not subjected to foreign manipulation. Furthermore, President Klaus Iohannis's declassification of several intelligence documents helped shape the court's response. This action underscores that the annulment stemmed from national security concerns rather than external pressures from Brussels or EU institutions.
While the Constitutional Court’s decision has caused controversy in Romania, there is no basis to the claims that the EU or US had any say in the decision to overturn the election results. The decision was adopted after the discovery of irregular elements pointing to a foreign interference campaign, especially through TikTok and illegal funding. The EU has demanded a full inquiry on Russia’s role in these incidents.
See similar cases such as Elections in Romania are unfair, as well as elections in France and US, EU, pro-Western opposition and president trying to carry out a coup in Georgia and that the EU interfered in the Romanian elections