STORY: The ongoing presidential election in Romania was annulled by the country's top court on Friday after accusations of Russian meddling.
The court said the election, due to conclude on Sunday and with voting already underway in polling stations abroad, would have to be re-run.
It would have pitted Calin Georgescu, a far-right, pro-Russian candidate, against pro-EU centrist leader Elena Lasconi.
:: File
Before the first-round vote in November, Georgescu scored single-digit numbers in opinion polls.
He then surged to a first-place finish that raised questions over the result.
:: Calin Georgescu via Facebook
On Friday he called the decision a "coup."
:: Elena Lasconi via Youtube
Lasconi condemned the ruling, saying it is "illegal, immoral and crushes the very essence of democracy."
:: File
If elected president, Georgescu - who wants to end Romania's support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion -would upend the pro-Western politics of the EU and NATO-member country...
and would push the country closer to central and eastern European countries with populist, Russia-friendly politicians.
Romania's top security council declassified documents on Wednesday that said the country was a target of "aggressive hybrid Russian attacks" during the election period.
:: Calin Georgescu via YouTube
Romania's anti-organized crime prosecuting unit said it was launching an investigation into Georgescu's campaign after analyzing the declassified documents.
Russia has denied any interference in Romania's election campaigns.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis' term was due to end on Dec. 21, but he said on Friday he will stay on until a new president is elected.
"Romania is a stable country, a safe country and a solid country. I say this for the economy, for investors, for the financial markets. I say this to the European Union. Romania is and remains a safe, solid, pro-European country. I say this to NATO. Romania remains a safe, solid ally and I think this is very important."
An analyst told Reuters the earliest possible date for the new vote could be March 2025.
In Bucharest, residents said they were upset about the court's decision.
"Undemocratic. Undemocratic and it is very bad that this happened. That's it, that's all, I won't comment any more."
:: December 1, 2024
Far-right parties gained a third of seats after the first presidential round and a Dec. 1 parliamentary election.
Though the ruling Social Democrats emerged as the largest grouping and hoped to cobble together a pro-EU coalition government.
The parliamentary vote was unaffected by Friday's court ruling.
