The biggest election year, one year on in Georgia and Romania

Championed as the super-year for elections, 2024 brought more than 1.6 billion people to the polls. In spite of its optimistic outlook, the democratic ideal was unveiled by “a troubling picture of how elections in the first place were conducted.” Thereby infringing upon Article 21 (3) of the UN Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), under which the expression of the will of the people is to be ensured through free voting procedures. In the 2024 elections, media and electoral financing were identified by the Electoral Integrity Project to have posed the most significant challenge in the fulfilment of this legal protection. In Georgia and Romania, their elections were both undermined by Russian interference via these channels.

Yet one year on, the stability and even existence of constitutional democracy within these case studies varies remarkably. In Romania, adjudication - a procedure of institutional acknowledgement and rectification of election concerns - was the first instance of immediate self-correction of democracy. Notably for countries like Georgia and Romania, the right to a free and fair election remains a vital pillar and test of their relatively young independence. That is whether the respective institutions choose a closer alignment to EU accession or strengthened integration or per contra, to the moral risks of democratic backsliding under the Russian sphere of influence.

March 7^th2025, marked the 100^th day of protests on Rustaveli avenue in Tbilisi. This symbolised a continuation of civic mobilisation against the ruling Georgian Dream Party’s decision to pause EU accession talks until 2028. It was reported that the ruling of this constitutional violation was amplified by the October 2024 elections, where the victory of the Georgian Dream Party was attained through voter intimidation, impersonation, vote buying, breaching of voter secrecy and alleged interference in the procedural process from Russia. Notably, the Georgian Dreams’ campaign posters of war-torn Ukraine with the slogan of “if you vote for anyone else but us, Georgia will become embroiled in warfare.”

With these early indications of a rigged election, the incumbent President Salome Zourabichvili addressed and mobilised Georgians with the statement of “the Georgian Dream Party stole your vote and tried to steal your future, but no one has the right to do that, and you will not let anyone do that”. As demonstrators peacefully sought new elections and democratic accountability their efforts were met by the authorities’ use of water cannons, tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets. Amid continued civic resistance and growing international condemnation of the elections, by December 2024 the Georgian Parliament would elect and inaugurate Mikheil Kavelashvili as President, a pro-Russian and anti-Western critic.

In recent weeks, local elections took place on the 4^th of October, as the state failed to inform international observers in sufficient time for meaningful and credible electoral observation, silenced independent media and oppositional figures, the electoral process and outcome were once again stolen. With the Central Electoral Commission attributing the Georgian Dream Party with a landslide victory of more than 80% of the vote. In the aftermath of the local elections, anti-government protests had peacefully and violently erupted, as some demonstrators tried to storm the presidential palace. While the demands for new elections, democratic accountability, the freedom of assembly and expression continue to be fought for by civil society, the Georgian regime continues its brutal crackdown of these human rights. Various critics have referred to the failures and insufficiencies of the West to sanction and isolate the ruling party.

In Romania, the violation of free voting procedures intensified wider debates surrounding the regulation of TikTok following the first round victory of Calin Georgescu on the 24^th November 2024. An independent far-right candidate, who back in September was predicted to win just over 1% of the vote. Although this result was initially validated following a court-ordered recount of votes on the 2^nd of December, the subsequent declassification of intelligence documents on the 4^th of December would bring into question the freedom and fairness of this election. Precisely, about how the use of digital technologies by state and non-state actors undermined national security and electoral transparency. The sudden rise of Georgescu’s popularity was explained by Romanian intelligence to be the result of “a highly organised Guerrilla campaign on social media sharing identical messages and using influencers”.

In addition, the documents also outlined serious irregularities in electoral financing, which contradict Georgescu’s claim of incurring no expenses on election promotion, and so he argued that the release of these documents hindered his chances of electoral success. The document found that one TikTok account paid €361,872 in one month to users who promoted Georgescu. Following the court’s rapid decision to annul the results of the first-round election and to reschedule the presidential elections to May 2025 violent protests erupted among pro-Georgescu supporters. With these demonstrations flaring up again in February 2025 when Georgescu was indicted for the incitement of undermining the constitutional order and once more in March when Georgescu was disqualified to re-run in the May elections. This then prompted George Simion to stand in his place instead. In the end, Nicuşor Dan, Bucharest Mayor and pro-European candidate won the elections with the highest voter turnout in 30 years.

To conclude, when often the understanding of a healthy democracy depends on the will of the people being respected, no matter the electoral outcome, the right to a free and fair election appears to be the most significant and crucial right in certain contexts of post-election fallout. Especially for the former Eastern bloc states like Georgia and Romania, Russian interference seems unlikely to fade but rather intensify. Therefore, it is paramount to safeguard electoral integrity, strengthen institutional consciousness, and remain committed to civil liberties and EU alignment, against the destabilisation of Russia. In the broader global context of declining electoral integrity, defending this right against transnational, internal and technological threats is not just a necessity but the foundation that ensures governance remains accountable to the power and interests of its people.

Image by Voice of America via Wikimedia Commons