Webinar: Romanian Presidential Elections 2.0: What to know before the second round | 15 May 2025 | 3 PM CET
The European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) and Expert Forum (EFOR) are pleased to invite you to a briefing on Romania’s second round of the 2025 presidential elections, set to take place on 18 May. This event follows the first round held on 4 May, which saw 11 candidates competing. While the ruling coalition’s candidate failed […]
OSCE/ODIHR publishes preliminary statement on Romania’s Presidential Election
The OSCE/ODIHR preliminary statement on Romania’s 2025 repeat presidential election acknowledges the efficient technical administration of the vote and respect for fundamental freedoms. However, OSCE/ODIHR raises concerns about transparency, inclusiveness, and the integrity of online campaigning, including: The international election observation to the first round of the presidential election in Romania totalled 46 observers from […]
Romania | Preliminary Report on the Observation of the 2025 presidential elections (1st Round)
Vot Corect / Expert Forum has published the preliminary report on the observation of the first round of the 2025 Romania presidential elections. Access the full report in Romanian here. Key Takeaways: The presidential election offered voters a wide range of candidates, and fundamental rights were generally respected. Electoral authorities managed the technical aspects of […]
Romania | How do the presidential candidates’ accounts grow overnight on TikTok?
What can we observe in the case of the 2025 presidential elections in Romania? The era of fake news is history. Not that we should no longer be concerned about fake news, which is a matter of content; combating it remains important. But the stakes in the 2025 campaign have become the ability to flood […]
Romania | The inauthentic industry on TikTok
What can we observe in the case of the 2025 presidential elections in Romania? Online election campaigns in Romania have entered a new era, dominated by an industry of political promotion through inauthentic networks. Although TikTok prohibits official political advertising, in practice we are witnessing an explosion of disguised, coordinated content favorable to certain candidates, […]
Webinar: Romanian Presidential Elections 2.0: Has Romania Learned any Lessons for the 2025 Elections? | 24 APRIL 2025 | 3 PM CET
The European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) and Expert Forum (EFOR) are pleased to invite you to a briefing on Romania’s upcoming 2025 presidential elections, set to take place on May 4 and 18. After the annulment of the 2024 elections, public interest in organizing the new electoral process increased significantly. Key aspects such as candidate registration, campaigning, […]
Romania | Temporary legislation: how parties modify the composition of the electoral commissions to serve their interest
Romanian EPDE member Expert Forum (EFOR) published a report on the modification of the composition of the electoral commissions. The way electoral commissions are setup has changed constantly in recent years. But not always through laws discussed in Parliament long before the election date, but through emergency ordinances or articles crammed into a long list […]
Elections: What happened online, and how can similar disruptions be prevented in the future?
One of the critical questions surrounding Romania’s political, social, and democratic crisisis: what happened on TikTok? Why is it impossible to conduct thorough research, andhow we could use the retention order issued by the European Commission requiringTikTok to preserve data related to the Romanian elections? To address this, we must consider multiple perspectives, beginning with […]
Romania | Candidate support signatures: the need for urgent reform
Romanian EPDE member Expert Forum (EFOR) has analysed the procedures for verifying the support signatures for candidates in the 2025 elections. The number of signatures remains high and is by far the highest in the EU, limiting electoral competition, but also hampering the integrity of the process. The large number of signatures generates possible violations of […]
Romania | Expert Forum’s Response to Elon Musk’s Disinformation and Intimidation Campaign
Expert Forum’s Official Position on Elon Musk’s Intimidation Campaign Expert Forum (EFOR) and our fellow civil society organizations are facing an unprecedented attack from powerful figures like Elon Musk. We believe this is an increasingly dangerous attempt at intimidation, deliberately singling out Expert Forum (EFOR) and other Romanian NGOs in this context. Such actions aim […]