By Alexandra Bellea-Noury
On Nov. 24, 2024 independent sovereignist Călin Georgescu won the first round of the Romanian Presidential election with 23%, without the support of any party structure and when polls had credited him with less than 5%. On Dec. 6, as Georgescu was leading in the polls, the second Presidential elections round was interrupted, and the whole election process was canceled by the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR), on the basis of declassified intelligence documents that created the suspicion of illegalities and Russian foreign intervention in his campaign.
A legal case was then launched against this interruption of the election process by the Coalition for the Defense of the Rule of Law, whose president is attorney Elena Radu, together with Călin Georgescu and his lawyers, for the purpose of bringing a remedy to what can be called a “legal coup d’état.”
Elena Radu explains the details of this legal case in an interview conducted by Alexandra Bellea-Noury Dec. 17, 2024, transcribed below.
The context of the unfolding, unprecedented events around the Romanian Presidential elections is the destructive NATO-EU war economy, and its impact on this nation of 19 million people, on the border with Ukraine.
Background: Major Shifts Underway
Ion Cristoiu, senior journalist, former editor-in-chief of major publications, made a very interesting test with TikTok during the election period. After the victory of Călin Georgescu Nov. 24 in round one of the voting, and the ensuing debates on his alleged illegal, Russian-sponsored social media campaign, mainly on TikTok, Cristoiu reported that he himself created a Tik Tok account December 16, and that he began posting political commentaries three times a day. He reported an astonishing success. In less than one month, he got more than one million likes and 65,000 followers. His most successful posts were those on foreign politics, on Trump, or on other important international issues. Cristoiu explained this success by saying that Romanians notice and are anxious about the big geopolitical changes underway. Georgescu was addressing these issues on TikTok, while the other candidates were not. Cristoiu says that this is how Georgescu’s victory can be explained.
Georgescu’s two main campaign thrusts were “stop the war in Ukraine,” and “economic sovereignty.” He declared that peace with all countries must prevail, and that Romania’s rich raw materials should be used for Romanians. Although the economic program of this ex-member of the Club of Rome is far from what Romania needs in order to become a fully developed country, there is an overall message of economic patriotism, to which people spontaneously reacted.
Georgescu’s positions on NATO and the EU provoked international outrage, with the mainstream press falsely claiming that the candidate wished to have Romania quit NATO and the EU. In fact, he only declared his intention to stop the servile attitude of Romania, and to instead conduct win-win negotiations with the EU institutions. He said that he would renegotiate the presence of the American anti-missile base at Deveselu, and he declared that NATO, which is supposed to be a defensive organization, has become an offensive one.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis made statements on Dec. 18, 2024 on the supposed “foreign influence” over Georgescu’s campaign, which in fact revealed much more about where the real interference in Romanian elections is coming from. Iohannis said, “… the foreign influence was found afterwards and I must say that on this issue we had significant support from strategic partners who helped the Romanian entities to, however, find out what happened. That’s why it took several days from the date of the elections until it was possible for the Supreme Council for National Defense to debate these issues….” The list of “strategic partners” of Romania is not very long; it includes the U.S., Great Britain, France, and others. In this context, one can presume that the coup d’état was carried out under foreign influence.
A new presidential election sequence has been announced by the Johannis government, with round one of voting to take place May 4, and round two on May 18, 2025, in the hope that “the wave will go by.” It is notable that the process of filtering out any candidates hostile to NATO already began back in October 2024, with the rejection by the same Constitutional Court of the candidacy of nationalist Diana Sosoacă on the basis of alleged offenses of expressing anti-NATO opinions. So, not all candidates who register for the new elections in May, may pass through the Constitutional Court’s sieve in the new election process.
Process of Peaceful Revolution
In the meantime, a process is unfolding in Romania that has the potential of a peaceful revolution, if not hijacked by violent provocateurs. Despite the attempted character assassination against Georgescu, or because of it, he now enjoys a big base of loyal supporters. The other opinion leaders are the lawyers involved in the legal cases to remedy the coup d’état, including Elena Radu and Marina Alexandru. They are insisting on the supremacy of justice over the power of individual men, and are educating the population on the principles of the state based on law, and on their civil rights.
For the candidate himself and for a big portion of supporters, Christianity is also an important element. Lawyer Marina Alexandru said that all Romanians are party to the trial against the coup d’état, and that they are fighting an “unseen war,” a Christian reference to the inner fight for becoming better, in the image of Christ.
The hearing on Dec. 30 at the Bucharest High Court of Appeal, concerning the case launched by Elena Radu and the lawyers of Călin Georgescu to remedy the coup d’état, was very tense. The lawyers and the judge had to shout in order to be heard, because of the sound volume of the demonstration taking place in front of the building.
As time goes by, more and more proof of the goofy details and illegalities surrounding the election’s cancellation come to light, such as the falsity of the accusation of Russian interference through a Tik Tok campaign, mentioned in the intelligence documents. An investigation by Snoop (Snoop.ro, a research outfit) showed that this campaign was in fact paid for by the Romanian National Liberal Party, trying to promote another candidate through a hashtag which was then also used by some pro-Georgescu online campaigners.
During the court hearing Dec. 30, proof of allegations of Georgescu’s campaign illegalities, or of foreign interference, was requested by his lawyers, but was not delivered. Nevertheless, on Dec. 31, the Bucharest Court of Appeal rejected the legal action by the Coalition for the Defense of the State of Law and Călin Georgescu. This decision will soon be challenged at the High Court of Cassation and Justice. Georgescu also has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against the judgment of the CCR.
On Jan. 10, thousands rallied again outside the Constitutional Court, in protest of the December cancellation of the Presidential election.
Although the mass movement which has developed is anti-system, it is not rage-driven. Until now, and if not disturbed by provocateurs, the overall atmosphere is that of a peaceful revolutionary effort to save the state of law and the Republic from a group of individuals who hijacked them. Even if it is more conservative, Christian, and right-wing-oriented, the uprising recalls the idea of mass strike developed by Rosa Luxemburg, in which people are surpassing themselves and their specific wage or other demands, in a lightning-fast political educational process, and beginning to fight for their dignity and universal ideas.
However, this movement, if successful in its efforts, lacks the economic expertise to assure the desired economic sovereignty. Specialists with a sense of physical economy belong by now to the old generation in Romania. A mass education program on Lyndon LaRouche’s economic principles would make an enormous difference.
