Romania -- Romania's defiant far-right presidential candidate on Sunday stood outside a closed polling station to denounce a top court's unprecedented decision to annul the first round of the vote in which he emerged as the frontrunner This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC Material from the Associated Press is Copyright © 2025 audio and/or video material shall not be published rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use The AP will not be held liable for any delays errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing Full Screen1 / 4Previous photoNext photoCalin Georgescu an independent candidate for president who came first after the first round of presidential election holds ballot papers before casting his vote in the country's parliamentary election in Mogosoaia speaks to media after casting his vote in the country's parliamentary election in Mogosoaia an independent candidate for president who came first after the first round of presidential elections leaves after casting his vote in the country's parliamentary elections speaks after exit polls were published in the country's parliamentary elections (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)Copyright 2024 The Associated Press BUCHAREST – TikTok took down several networks that tried to meddle in Romania's elections executives said Tuesday as they defended the company's election integrity measures to European Union lawmakers The video-sharing platform is a focus of controversy in the Eastern European country after far-right outsider Calin Georgescu emerged as the frontrunner in the vote plunging the country into turmoil amid allegations of electoral violations and Russian meddling Among the networks that TikTok uncovered were two small groups that it disrupted on Friday Both networks targeted Romanian users. One had only 1,781 followers and supported Georgescu, who was a little-known independent candidate until he set off shockwaves by convincingly winning the first round of voting The other networks supported different candidates Many observers chalked up Georgescu’s success to his TikTok account which now has 5.8 million likes and 527,000 followers He gained huge traction and popularity in the weeks leading up to the first vote. But experts suspect Georgescu’s online following was artificially inflated while officials hinted that he was given preferential treatment by TikTok. The controversy highlights how TikTok has become a key election tool in Romania, an EU and NATO member state that shares a long border with war-torn Ukraine. TikTok applied its “global playbook” for the Romanian election and took a local approach with staff on the ground, said Caroline Greer, the company's top lobbyist in the EU. Greer and Pegum were being grilled by EU lawmakers about Tiktok's role in the Romanian vote as well as its compliance with the 27-nation bloc's Digital Services Act, a sweeping set of regulations designed to protect users online from illegal or harmful content. Greer said TikTok deployed 95 Romanian language content moderators, worked with a fact-checking group and met with political parties and a number of different authorities including the country's electoral authority. But many lawmakers were not satisfied with their responses. “The feeling here is that we are losing patience ... and that we need more specific answers,” said Dirk Gotink, a Dutch member of the European Parliament. He also questioned what the scores of Romanian content moderators were doing during the election, and compared Pegum and Greer to firefighters TikTok sent to put out a fire. “They come, they let the fire rage online for weeks, months, during an election. And then they send very nice people here into this committee to answer questions in a very polite way," Gotink said. "But it is simply not convincing — and it also doesn’t reflect what is happening online.” According to a report by the Bucharest-based Expert Forum think tank, Georgescu's TikTok account garnered 92.8 million views primarily within the last few months, a figure that grew by 52 million views a week later, just days ahead of the first-round vote. Another TikTok account solely featuring Georgescu content, which had 1.7 million likes on the night first-round polls closed, was removed the day after voting. It had posts with Georgescu attending church, doing judo, running around an oval track, and speaking on podcasts. In an emailed statement to The Associated Press on Monday, TikTok said the account was one of “more than 150 accounts impersonating Georgescu” to date that has been removed, but added: “We also removed more than 650 additional impersonation accounts belonging to other candidates.” Georgescu will face reformist Elena Lasconi, of the progressive Save Romania Union party, in a presidential runoff on Sunday. AP Business Writer Kelvin Chan reported from London. This story corrects the spelling of lawmaker Dirk Gotink’s name. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines TV Listings Email Newsletters RSS Feeds Contests and Rules Contact Us Careers at WJXT / WCWJ Closed Captioning / Audio Description WJXT Public File WJXT EEO Report WCWJ Public File WCWJ EEO Report Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Info FCC Applications Copyright © 2025 News4JAX.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group but far-right populists see big gainsStephen Mcgrath Full Screen1 / 22Previous photoNext photoA woman exits a voting cabin with European Union flags as curtains before casting her vote in the country's parliamentary elections (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)A woman exits a voting cabin before casting her vote in the country's parliamentary election in Mogosoaia exits a voting booth to cast his vote in the country's parliamentary election in Mogosoaia (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)A man prepares to cast his vote in the country's parliamentary elections (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)A woman holds ballot papers before casting her vote in the country's parliamentary election in Mogosoaia casts his vote in the country's parliamentary elections (AP Photo/Alexandru Dobre)A woman holding a ballot exits a voting booth during the country's parliamentary elections (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)Calin Georgescu arrives at a voting station to cast his vote in the country's parliamentary election in Mogosoaia and his wife Cristela talk before casting their vote in the country's parliamentary election in Mogosoaia (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)A man and a woman post their votes in the country's parliamentary elections (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu watches exit polls in the country's parliamentary elections leader of the right wing Alliance for the Union of Romanians party (AP Photo/Bogdan Buda)Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu casts his vote in the country's parliamentary elections leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) leaves a press conference after polls closed during the country's parliamentary elections leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) speaks to media after polls closed during the country's parliamentary elections listens to fellow party member Dan Barna before exit polls were published in the country's parliamentary elections (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)People wearing costumes perform a ritual dance before the speech of George Simion leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) shortly before polls closed in the country's parliamentary elections speaks after exit polls in the country's parliamentary elections (AP Photo/Alexandru Dobre)Diana Iovanovici-Sosoaca Romania party and member of European Parliament casts her vote in the country's parliamentary elections stands in a voting booth as a man votes in the country's parliamentary elections (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)Copyright 2024 The Associated Press A woman exits a voting cabin with European Union flags as curtains before casting her vote in the country's parliamentary elections BUCHAREST – Romania’s Social Democratic Party looked set to win the most votes in Sunday’s parliamentary election while far-right populists were on track to make significant gains in the country’s legislature The voting suggested widespread anti-establishment sentiment in the European Union and NATO member country incomplete electoral data showed the leftist PSD leading the polls with about 23.9% while the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians stood at about 14.5% and the reformist Save Romania Union party The legislative vote came a week after the first round of a presidential race that saw a controversial far-right populist who was polling in single digits win the most votes which has since plunged the country into political turmoil is due to face reformist Elena Lasconi of the USR in a Dec the little-known right-wing populist Party of Young People — which has backed Georgescu for the presidency — appeared on track to pass the 5% threshold to enter parliament some diaspora votes were still being counted and could alter the outcome who came in third in the first round of the presidential race and resigned as PSD leader said after polls closed that they "need to look carefully” at Sunday’s results “It is an important signal that the Romanians sent to the political class,” he warned the controversial 38-year-old AUR leader who is a vocal supporter of U.S told the media that the anti-establishment gains amounted to a “watershed moment” for Romania “We are here … generation after generation proving that nothing can defeat a united nation.” the AUR party went from relative obscurity to gaining 9% in a parliamentary vote about 9.4 million people — about 52.3% of eligible voters — had cast ballots It was the biggest turnout in a parliamentary election since 2004 The vote will elect a new government and prime minister and determine the formation of the 466-seat legislature Many observers believe the presidential outcome indicated a sharp shift from Romania’s mainstream parties to more populist anti-establishment parties whose voices have found fertile ground amid high inflation high cost of living and a sluggish economy The parliamentary election was sandwiched between two rounds of the presidential race the first of which sent shockwaves through the political establishment and led to allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference Georgescu’s TikTok exposure raises questions Georgescu’s success, which many have attributed to his rapid rise in popularity on the social media platform TikTok has triggered nightly protests throughout Romania by those who oppose his past remarks praising Romanian fascist leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin and view him as a threat to democracy Georgescu’s TikTok account before last week's vote saw an explosion of engagement which it said appeared "sudden and artificial Romania’s top defense body said Thursday that “a presidential candidate benefited from massive exposure due to preferential treatment” granted by TikTok Romania has become a “priority target for hostile actions” by Russia The same day, the Constitutional Court requested a recount of all 9.4 million votes after a presidential candidate who obtained 1% filed a complaint alleging the USR had violated electoral laws against campaign activities on polling day The Central Election Bureau approved the request and said scanned reports were due to be sent in by Sunday night the court postponed a decision until Monday on whether to annul the vote vowed on Sunday evening that “if we are united the Russian bots on TikTok cannot destroy our democracy." “I understand what is happening in society I understand the frustrations and that is why I am here now,” she said "We really need to make a change and rewrite the political elite.” told The Associated Press ahead of Sunday's vote that Georgescu’s success indicated that far-right parties would obtain record highs “The impact of the surprise in last Sunday’s presidential election will be significant and we are going to wake up in a new political reality,” he told The Associated Press “Georgescu voters will speak again and will reshape how we look at the political Romanian spectrum from now on and probably forever.” “The most probable scenario will be a difficult-to-build majority in the parliament to support and endorse a new government,” he added Despite historically being Romania's two main opposition parties that have dominated post-communist politics the PSD and the PNL formed an unlikely coalition in 2021 A small ethnic Hungarian party exited the Cabinet last year after a power-sharing dispute While the presidential role in Romania has significant decision-making powers in areas such as national security and foreign policy the prime minister is the head of the nation’s government says he was surprised by the result in the first-round presidential ballot and that it’s an “obvious sign” Europe at large is shifting toward far-right populism but now we have to think about the … lesser evil,” he said rewritten or redistributed without permission TV Listings Email Newsletters RSS Feeds Closed Captioning / Audio Description Contact Us Careers at WPLG Terms of Use Privacy Policy Public File FCC Applications EEO Report 1.0 Host Exhibit Copyright © 2025 Local10.com is published by WPLG INC. the domain around the Mogoşoaia Palace will host the second edition of Fall in Love music festival the event where you fall in love with life nature and some of the most appreciated artists in the world today both international and Romanian – 3 stages nature at the beginning of Fall and plenty of dancing   The artists who you can Fall in Love with this year are: Jessie Ware the young musician and producer from Guernsey performs for the first time on the stage in this part of the world he has already made two Grammy nominations has propelled him to the top of the charts in the US and UK PAOLO NUTINI (UK) is just releasing his fourth studio album, Last Night in the Bittersweet. His songs in funk, reggae and soul rhythms will be heard live for the first time in Romania, on the stage of the Fall in Love festival, and his audience will surely fall in love with his renowned hits These Streets or Jenny Don’t Be Hasty, in the nature surrounding the Mogoşoaia Palace. SUEDE (UK) are pioneers of the Britpop musical movement and one of the most acclaimed alternative rock bands in the UK with the unmistakable Brett Anderson as the lead singer from the Mercury Music Prize to the Godlike Genius Award (NME) Suede are to release the long-awaited album Autofiction ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (USA) brings to the stage a unique representation of the eclectic and effervescent African rhythms which contrasts with the audience’s expectations from the classical sounds of hip-hop culture 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of… enriched their record with two Grammy Awards Arrested Development set out to play an active role in changing the world for the better and are doing just that from the greatest stages of the world Pre-sale passes for Fall in Love Festival 2022 are available at the price of 185 lei + taxes / pcs and pre-sale pass + camping at the price of 274 lei + taxes / pcs and can be purchased on www.bilete.ro and in the national network Bilete.ro: TICKET INFO: +40.21.311.93.23 and/or office@bilete.ro We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used one of the leaders in Romania’s construction industry has inaugurated a new concrete plant in Mogosoaia following an investment of 7.5 million RON The group currently operates 3 facilities that produce concrete for engineering constructions as well as an asphalt mix production station in Pantelimon IBB Holding: “Through this new concrete station located in the north of Bucharest we are in a favorable position to participate in tenders for infrastructure projects in this area and to establish strategic partnerships with real estate developers we can ensure the quality of the materials used providing faster and more efficient services Our strategy is to offer integrated services with production with responsibility towards the environment and future generations tailored to each type of project we are involved in The real need that Romania has in terms of investments in infrastructure and the projects that have already started give us a positive view on the development of our business in the medium and long term.” The concrete plant in Mogosoaia is certified according to RENAR standards for producing concrete for engineering constructions having a production capacity of 100 cubic meters per hour manager and developer of European logistics real estate Max in extending the e-commerce warehouse space in Bucharest I Logistics Park Mogosoaia Dr. Max’s e-commerce platform is among the top 10 websites in Romania, measured by number of unique visitors, and the portfolio consists of OTC products, cosmetics, medical devices, food supplements, dermato-cosmetics, mother & baby products, diet and nutritional products, and natural remedies. “We are honoured to be among the preferred partners supporting the dynamic development of Dr. Max Romania’s logistics capabilities in recent years. With pharmaceuticals storage needing to meet very high and particular standards, we are using Logicor’s international expertise to support the customer’s need to store drugs in optimal conditions.” 150,000 sqm of high-quality warehouse space Bucharest I Logistics Park is ideal for in-city distribution while facilitating easy access to national road infrastructure that connect the Capital City to major economic hubs around the country In line with its commitment to sustainability, Logicor Bucharest I Logistics Park obtained the BREEAM Very Good certification for c.38,000 sqm of space developed in 2020-2021 and is in the process of obtaining at least Very Good for c.23,000 sqm that have been completed recently. providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used.