In Romania, 'no one knew anything' about Calin Georgescu, who won the first round of presidential elections

Located just an hour’s drive north of Bucharest, Draganesti is much like many villages deep in the Romanian countryside. Rundown houses line a few straight streets, where 4,000 residents live modestly, though things are slowly improving thanks in part to money sent back by Romanians working in Western Europe. The star-spangled blue flag flutters everywhere as a reminder of the European Union (EU) funding that built the new school, refurbished the town hall and paved the roads.

“I can’t even think about leaving the EU; it would be such a catastrophe,” said Ionut Toma, the young mayor from the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the party of Romania’s current Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who was eliminated in the first round of the presidential election held on Sunday, 24 November. His village is so attached to the West that it has also hung the NATO flag in front of its town hall, and even in the school’s lobby. “You see, these values are our blood, no one can change them,” said a municipal employee while giving a tour of the premises.

On Sunday, however, Draganesti cast 37% of its votes for Calin Georgescu, the far-right pro-Russian candidate who unexpectedly topped the polls in Romania. He is set to face the centrist pro-European candidate Elena Lasconi in the second round on Sunday, 8 December. “When I saw Georgescu’s ballot papers being counted, I said to myself: We’ve got a problem,” said Emil Stan, one of the local councilors, still in shock that this PSD stronghold was among the areas with the strongest shift toward Georgescu across Romania.

‘Violating electoral legislation’

“On Saturday, just before the election, I had noticed people were being bombarded with messages on TikTok. The profiles only had a photo and a single video, no personal details. No one knew anything about this candidate, yet it clearly convinced many undecided voters,” said the offshore platform technician, who works alternately in the Netherlands. He echoed doubts voiced across Romania about the Chinese social media platform’s role in events. On Thursday, November 28, the Supreme Council of National Defence, the highest security authority in this country of 19 million inhabitants, officially denounced the “preferential treatment” Georgescu received on TikTok as “violating electoral legislation.”

In Draganesti, nearly everyone is hooked on the social platform that enables video sharing. “When I watch his videos, I want to cry. He seems sincere and gives me confidence,” said Daniela, a 39-year-old stay-at-home mother who first saw the face of this former high-ranking official on her phone in the weeks leading up to the election. Nicolae Dragomir, a 63-year-old pensioner, didn’t “find it at all strange” that this candidate, who officially did not spend a single euro during his entire campaign, had become so popular so quickly on the platform. He said he was “going to vote for him with all [his] heart” in the second round.

You have 57.35% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.