(Bloomberg) -- Romania’s pro-European parties signed a deal to form a coalition in an attempt to keep nationalist forces out of power ahead of a presidential election run-off on Sunday that has a Russia-friendly candidate as the front-runner.
In an unprecedented accord on Wednesday, the previous two ruling parties — the Social Democrats and the Liberals — agreed to start talks with the reformist party Save Romania Union, a party of ethnic Hungarians and a group representing minorities to form a government after the presidential ballot.
The move would give the alliance a solid majority in the next parliament.
The parties also urged citizens to vote for a president who will keep Romania on a pro-European path in what effectively amounts to an endorsement of the Save Romania Union leader Elena Lasconi, who will face Calin Georgescu, a fringe newcomer, in the run-off on Sunday.
Romania’s political establishment was blindsided by the surprise victory of Georgescu in the first round of voting. The candidate, who campaigned heavily on the TikTok social media platform, opposed military aid to Ukraine and has questioned the benefits of NATO membership.
The Black Sea country’s defense council released a series of declassified intelligence documents late on Wednesday, detailing how Georgescu’s TikTok campaign was boosted by suspected accounts “coordinated by an actor state,” which it didn’t identify.
Georgescu, who declared zero campaign funding to authorities, benefited from a massive campaign on the social media platform and paid promotion.
Georgescu’s spokesperson did not respond to phone calls from Bloomberg News requesting comment. In media appearances and social media videos over the past week, Georgescu has denied any links to Russia.
“Our assessment shows that Romania is a target for aggressive Russian hybrid attacks, including cyberattacks, hacks and leaks and sabotage,” the Romanian intelligence service said in one of the documents. Russia has denied any interference in the country’s elections.
The declassified documents prompted a reaction from Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who came third in the presidential contest. Ciolacu said on Facebook that his presidential bid was the most impacted by Georgescu’s campaign and called on the authorities to investigate.
Therefore, Ciolacu said, he would support Lasconi in the presidential run-off. “We must overcome the wave of hate that’s been tormenting us for 20 years and to unite our efforts to continue Romania’s European development path,” he said.
(Updates with Romanian intelligence assessments from sixth paragraph, Prime Minister comments from eighth)
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