The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rejected the application by Calin Georgescu, the far-right candidate of the Romanian presidential election in 2024, challenging the annulment of the election.
The Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the election in December. The authorities accused Georgescu of having benefited from an illegal boosting and support campaign on the TikTok platform.
According to these reports, the Chinese social media platform enabled user Bogdan Peshir to distribute payments totalling $381,000 (£361,000) between 24 October and 24 November to users promoting the far-right candidate.
On 16 December, the candidate lodged his application with the ECHR, invoking the right to free elections. He invoked Article 39 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which allows the Court to take ‘provisional’ measures in urgent cases, explained the Strasbourg-based institution in a press release.
But the seven judges hearing the case unanimously rejected "Mr Georgescu's application on the grounds that it does not fall within the scope of Article 39".
The Court grants interim measures only where there is an imminent risk of irreparable damage to one of the rights protected by the Convention’, the statement said. Moreover, such measures can only be adopted in exceptional circumstances.
This judgment is without prejudice to subsequent decisions on the admissibility or merits of the cases in question, the Court points out.
Last week, Romania's government set the dates for the new presidential elections in May.
The first round will take place on 4 May and a second round on 18 May, if no candidate wins more than half the votes.
