Romania is experiencing an intensifying political rift as conservative presidential candidate George Simion calls for peaceful demonstrations in response to what he alleges was a “fraudulent” election outcome. The contentious result, which saw pro-European Union candidate and Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan narrowly defeat Simion in a run-off, has sparked outrage among supporters of the populist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), who claim the democratic process has been hijacked by foreign influence and shadowy non-state actors.

Simion, a vocal critic of the European Union and a staunch advocate for Romanian sovereignty, issued a stark warning in a video address streamed on social media on the night of May 23. “We were one step away from a bloodbath,” he declared, referring to what he described as a deliberate attempt to incite violent unrest, reminiscent of Ukraine’s 2014 Euromaidan uprising. He claimed that “demonic plans” had been set in motion to plunge Romania into chaos, but credited the restraint of his supporters for preventing a potential catastrophe.

Simion lost the presidential run-off by a small margin, with official figures showing Nicușor Dan securing just over 51% of the vote. The first round had already been marred by controversy after independent candidate Călin Georgescu was disqualified despite leading with 23% of the vote. Romania’s Constitutional Court overturned the initial results citing electoral irregularities and alleged foreign interference-accusations that included claims of Russian meddling, which Moscow has categorically denied.

In the second round, the race between Simion and Dan was fierce. Simion accused Dan of benefiting from widespread........

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