Foreign interference shakes Romania's presidential elections

The Romanian authorities have informed their allies about foreign interference in the presidential elections. According to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, declassified documents from the Supreme National Defence Council indicate that during the first round of elections, there was external interference by a "state actor."

"We have informed our allies about this external interference attempt and will take all necessary measures to protect democracy, national security, and sovereignty," the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday.

The Romanian authorities decided to declassify and publish reports containing crucial information regarding malicious external operations. These reports point to illegal financing, the strengthening of digital campaigns, and widespread cyberattacks targeting the presidential elections.

The declassified reports, the ministry stresses, show "unprecedented and significant foreign interference directed against democratic institutions and processes." "These actions are part of an ongoing and persistent attempt to undermine Romania's firm commitment to Euro-Atlantic values and our membership in the EU and NATO," stated the communication.

The day before, the Supreme National Defence Council revealed reports from Romanian intelligence services and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They indicate that during the first round of presidential elections, there were organised cyberattacks on election systems, involving an external "state actor."

It was assessed that Romania is targeted with "aggressive Russian hybrid attacks, including cyberattacks, information leaks, and sabotage," stated the Foreign Intelligence Service.

The Romanian Intelligence Service also detected an aggressive promotional campaign conducted circumventing national election legislation, but also using algorithms of certain social media platforms to accelerate the rise in popularity of Calin Georgescu. This campaign was coordinated through alternative communication channels such as Telegram and Discord to "transmit" messages on the TikTok platform.

It was also revealed that an entrepreneur from Brașov, Bogdan Peschir, spent approximately 1.5 million Canadian dollars financing Georgescu's campaign on TikTok. The network of accounts promoting Georgescu initially included 25,000 TikTok accounts that became very active two weeks before the elections. Additionally, over 100 influencers with eight million followers were manipulated to promote Calin Georgescu.