Thousands protest in Romania against presidential vote annulment

Bucharest: Thousands of flag waving Romanians protested outside parliament on Friday against the annulment of presidential elections, where an obscure...

Bucharest: Thousands of flag-waving Romanians protested outside parliament on Friday against the annulment of presidential elections, where an obscure far-right candidate had been the front-runner amid claims of Russian interference.

The Constitutional Court last month scrapped the November 24 ballot results which handed a first-round victory to 62-year-old Calin Georgescu after allegations that Russia was trying to sway the vote in the EU and NATO member nation bordering Ukraine.

Georgescu shot to prominence overnight on TikTok, drawing a European Union probe of the social media platform. He has called the vote annulment a "formalised coup d'etat".

Protesters on Friday rallied outside the parliament building, which also houses the Constitutional Court, carrying Romanian flags and chanting "We voted, you stole from us" and "Give us back the second round".

They also held posters of Georgescu, who did not turn up despite encouraging supporters in a video message to gather in front of the Constitutional Court and ask it "to urgently review the decision that has thrown Romania into chaos".