Voters’ Choices and International Influence in Romania’s Presidential Elections

Registration
Register Here. Zoom link will be sent one day before the event. Registration deadline: 22 April 2025, 21:00h

Background
On December 6, 2024, the presidential election in Romania was annulled by the Constitutional Court, citing Russian interference in favor of the independent and pro-Russian candidate, Călin Georgescu, who had taken an unexpected lead in the first round. The court’s decision was made 48 hours before the second round. Moscow and the current U.S. administration condemned the decision.

A new election will be held on 4 May 2025. Georgescu is not a candidate. His followers may vote for George Simion, leader of the nationalist AUR party, a proponent of the unification of Moldova and Romania, and a defender of ethnic Romanians wherever they are. The party’s core values focus on family and Christianity. Simion’s views on Russia have been inconsistent. Should Simion win, would he be acceptable to the international community?

Some analysts believe that annulling the election was not politically wise: many voters feel that their vote has no value. At the same time, courts appear to be playing an increasingly significant role in politics, and their decisions are often interpreted as politically motivated.

Oana Popescu-Zamfir will explore the Romanian political context and voters’ concerns.

Speaker
Oana Popescu-Zamfir is the director and founder of GlobalFocus Centre, an independent foreign policy and security think-tank based in Bucharest. She is a Europe’s Futures fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and an associate expert at Carnegie Europe. She is an international consultant, media commentator, writer, and lecturer. Previously, she was state secretary for EU Affairs in the Romanian government and a foreign policy adviser to the president of the Romanian senate, program director of the Aspen Institute Romania, and senior editor of the Romanian edition of Foreign Policy magazine.

Format
Short presentation followed by Q&A

Concept and Moderation
Mirjana Tomic fjum/Presseclub Concordia

Target Audience
Journalists, media professionals and researchers

Maximum number of participants: 100