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00:00A recount has been ordered in Romania's election amid growing controversy.
00:03The pro-Russian candidate, Caolin Djorgescu, finished top of the first round of voting.
00:08His success has been put down to the social media platform TikTok.
00:12And an intelligence service is raising questions.
00:16Concerns over Russian manipulation of the democratic process
00:20were expressed well before voting day.
00:22Djorgescu is, of course, due to face the centrist contender Elena Lascuni
00:26in a runoff on December 8th.
00:28But now the recounter is announced.
00:30Meanwhile, the parliamentary election is scheduled for Sunday.
00:32Let's begin for analysis of the situation and essential context.
00:36Oana Popescu-Zamfira joining us live from Bucharest.
00:40Oana, thank you very much for being with us here on France 24.
00:43We appreciate your time.
00:44This role of TikTok, give us a sense about how
00:47it has played a key part in this election so far.
00:51Hi, thank you for having me.
00:53I think that is still a matter of investigation
00:57because on the one hand, we may be dealing with an organic phenomenon,
01:01which is just new as social media networks
01:06are playing an ever more important role in our lives.
01:10So the particular thing about this campaign
01:14is that the candidate in quotes has not campaigned
01:19on mainstream media or grassroots door to door.
01:23We know virtually nothing about his team
01:29or even any campaign headquarters.
01:33So he's been completely non-transparent.
01:35And all we know is his social media TikTok persona,
01:39not really the profile of the man himself,
01:44but only what we see on TikTok.
01:47Now, this is the potentially organic part
01:50where I think we're all a little bit struck
01:53by something that's new
01:55and where social media is more impactful than before.
02:00On top of that, however, there are suspicions
02:03that this kind of visibility
02:05that the candidate was able to achieve in a very short time,
02:09which would have been very costly.
02:12It would have required significant strategizing and effort.
02:16That might actually be the result of foreign interference,
02:19especially since he has declared zero expenses
02:25from the money that is allocated by the state.
02:28So the budget that would be transparent.
02:31Hence suspicions raised by the National Security Council today
02:36that he may have been benefiting
02:39from illegal visibility on TikTok.
02:43So maybe coordinated inauthentic behaviour, as it is called.
02:48So Ceaușescu could have used a very clever,
02:53indulged in a very clever use of social media,
02:56or it could have been Russian manipulation
02:58or maybe a combination of the two.
03:00Is that what we're getting at?
03:02Highly unlikely that the former alone
03:06would have got him to the kind of visibility
03:08and percentages that he got.
03:11Even data analysts and social media experts
03:14and sociologists cannot compute an explanation,
03:18a coherent explanation,
03:19where smart use of social media alone
03:23would have got him here.
03:25There is going to be a recount, Oana.
03:28A recount.
03:29Will that satisfy people?
03:32Probably not.
03:33Actually, I think there's a growing perception.
03:37And this time, because of the opacity
03:40and the lack of communication of state institutions
03:43over the past few days,
03:45that maybe now the government
03:48is trying to fix a potential democratic,
03:52an undemocratic, sorry, drift of the country
03:56through undemocratic means.
03:58It has not been very convincing
04:00that the constitutional court
04:02took this unprecedented step
04:04of ordering a total recount of votes in record time.
04:08If that shows a different result than the first time,
04:13obviously, this would raise further doubt.
04:17I think it would further decrease
04:20the public's confidence in institutions.
04:23However, obviously, it would be a healthy process
04:26at the end of the day
04:27if there's something real behind it.
04:30So now I think we're in very confusing territory
04:33where some legitimate steps
04:36might actually be met
04:38with a high level of suspicion
04:40given the general climate of polarisation
04:45and lack of confidence in the process itself.
04:48We hear exactly what you're saying, Oana.
04:51And of course, there is a second round
04:52of the presidential election to come
04:53on December the 8th, if I'm not mistaken.
04:56And before that, a parliamentary election.
04:58So all this adding to the sense, I suppose,
05:01of doubt about the veracity of what happens
05:04and about the safety of what happens.
05:07Absolutely.
05:09Ideally, state institutions would have provided,
05:13or at least would provide now,
05:16even at this late hour, more clarity
05:20because lacking that, we have a deepening climate
05:26of, like I said, confusion and polarisation.
05:30Part of society feels that the system
05:33might now be coalescing to stop the ascent
05:37of this independent candidate.
05:39And then they're going to mobilise
05:40to vote even more sovereignist
05:44for the parliamentary elections
05:46and to vote for him in the second round
05:48or in a rerun of the first round,
05:51if that is the case,
05:52because that is still on the table.
05:55The other part of society
05:56is getting more and more mobilised
05:58against the possibility of this happening
06:01and against the possibility of Romania
06:04moving in a Viktor Orbán-Hungary kind of direction.
06:09So I think what we're seeing
06:11is heightened divisions within society
06:16and a lot of suspicion on all sides.
06:20Oana, Popescu, Zamfir,
06:23thank you for joining us from Bucharest
06:26from the Global Focus Centre.
06:28Oana, thanks for being with us.
06:29We, of course, are watching for all developments.