Sebastian Popescu, leader of the National Renewal Party (PNR), has challenged the results of the 2025 presidential elections in Romania after obtaining just 0.28% of the votes in the first round.
Ninth among the ten candidates, Popescu alleges unequal treatment in media and social networks, claiming that certain candidates were favored, although he hasn't presented solid evidence to support these accusations.
Popescu has directly pointed to George Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), and Nicușor Dan, former mayor of Bucharest and independent candidate with support from pro-European sectors, as beneficiaries of privileged media coverage.
The PNR candidate compared his situation to the "Georgescu case" of 2024, when he falsely alleged that Calin Georgescu was benefited by a massive disinformation campaign on social networks, coordinated with Russian support. However, Popescu's complaint contains no evidence of external interference or digital manipulation.
Furthermore, Popescu criticized the country's main television channels for limiting electoral debates to the five candidates with the highest voting intention. He stated that daily news spaces focused exclusively on those candidates, marginalizing the rest of the contenders, which according to him, distorted the democratic process.
Nevertheless, electoral experts and international observers haven't identified systematic irregularities in media coverage or significant violations of electoral legislation.
The Constitutional Court of Romania, which was already a key player in 2024 after annulling the first round of elections due to Russian interference, must now decide whether to accept or reject Popescu's challenge.
Although an official date for the case review hasn't been set yet, a resolution is expected soon, given that the second round is scheduled for May 18.
In the first round held this year, George Simion obtained 40.96% of the votes, followed by Nicușor Dan with 20.99%. Crin Antonescu (PNL) came in third with 20.07%, and former Prime Minister Victor Ponta reached 13.04%.
