Romanian nationalist candidate George Simion announced on Saturday that he was taking down his Facebook and TikTok accounts in observance of the “day of silence” ahead of Sunday’s high-stakes presidential runoff.
This closely watched election comes just five months after Romania’s constitutional court unexpectedly annulled the previous presidential vote. That decision followed widespread accusations of Russian interference and the use of an aggressive social media campaign to support the far-right frontrunner—who has since been disqualified from running.
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In Sunday’s decisive second round, Simion—an outspoken supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump and advocate for a “Romania first” agenda—will go head-to-head with pro-European Union candidate and current Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan. The race is expected to be extremely tight.
On Saturday, Simion informed his more than 1.5 million followers that he was voluntarily disabling his social media accounts to comply with the pre-election silence period. “To respect the day of silence, I will close this social media account. The TikTok one is already closed… I ask everyone to do the same,” the 38-year-old wrote in a final Facebook post.
His move followed the blocking of his TikTok account, a development that triggered a wave of outrage from supporters who accused the establishment of cracking down. Many online claimed it was the act of a “desperate system that is losing.”
Political scientist Sergiu Miscoiu described Simion’s move as a “smokescreen”.
“Through this manoeuver, Mr Simion is seeking to portray himself as a politician who respects democratic norms. In reality, there are thousands of fake accounts on TikTok and other social media that continue to spread propaganda in favour of George Simion,” Miscoiu told AFP.
Tens of thousands protested after the initial first-round presidential vote was annulled and the frontrunner in that vote, Calin Georgescu, also a hard nationalist, barred from running again.
Simion picked up many of Georgescu’s votes in the first-round rerun held earlier in May.
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Sunday’s knock-out ballot is closely watched abroad including in Brussels and Washington.
The post of Romanian president holds significant sway in foreign policy in the country, an EU and NATO member that borders war-torn Ukraine.
If Simion wins, Romania would join a small but increasing number of EU members with nationalist leaders critical of Brussels and keen to cut military aid to Ukraine.