Romania’s presidential candidate Calin Georgescu, who won the first round of the election, has called the Constitutional Court’s decision to annul the results and order the entire electoral process to be repeated a “coup”.

“It’s just an organised coup. Our democracy is in danger,” the 62-year-old, a former high-ranking public official, said in a video message.

Georgesku urged his supporters “to remain faithful to our common ideal” despite the cancellation of the election, two days before the second round is due to be held.

The Constitutional Court shockingly decided to annul the result on suspicions of Russian interference via the TikTok platform.

The Court “annuls the entire process of electing a Romanian president to ensure the validity and legitimacy of the election and demands that the entire electoral process be re-run,” the statement said.

The second round of the presidential election was to be held the day after tomorrow, Sunday, and voting for this second round is already underway in polling stations abroad.

In the first round, the right-wing pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu came in first to everyone’s surprise. His opponent is Elena Laskoni, a center-right mayor of a small town.