The right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party organized the demonstration, ZeroHedge reports. Its leader, George Simion, stated: “We are protesting against the coup d’état that took place on Dec. 6 ... We are sorry to discover so late that we were living in a lie and that we were led by people who claimed to be democrats, but are not at all. We demand a return to democracy through the resumption of elections, starting with the second round.”
Protesters who marched held signs that read, "We Want Free Elections," "Bring Back The Second Round," "Freedom," and "Democracy Is Not Optional." Others carried Christian Orthodox icons.
Romania held the first round of its two-round presidential elections in November. Populist anti-NATO candidate Calin Georgescu shocked many when he emerged as the frontrunner of the election, contrary to what poll had predicted. He led with 23 percent in a group of 13 which set him up to go to the second and final election round where he would compete with reformist Save Romania Union party candidate Elena Lasconi.
Two days before the second round was set to take place, Romania's Constitutional Court canceled the election and called for a complete redo starting with round one, citing alleged Russian interference. Current President Klaus Iohannis had released supposed intelligence that Russia was behind social media accounts that supported Georgescu's campaign. The court ruled that the election had been tampered with by manipulated votes, campaign irregularities and secret spending.
"You petty politicians, with your ungrateful and immature games, you won't even know what hit you in this global storm,” said Georgescue in a social media post. "You are so small that you aren't even able to understand anything. Nothing you do will make a difference anymore. The inevitable, is inevitable."
