Prosecutors in Romania on Saturday raided three houses in the central city of Brasov, a day after the country's top court declared a first-round presidential ballot invalid amid allegations that the far-right, pro-Kremlin winner might have benefited from Russian interference.

The court's ruling came after declassified documents indicated that the electoral process was tainted by vote manipulation, campaign irregularities and nontransparent funding.

The move by the court means a second-round vote planned for Sunday will not take place as planned. A new date for fresh presidential elections will be set by the government that forms after last weekend's parliamentary elections, won by the ruling Social Democrats amid major gains by far-right parties.  

Probe into possible illegal funding

Prosecutors said the searches formed part of a probe into illegal campaign funding and other violations of the law.

"The searches target the possible involvement of an individual in the illegal financing of the electoral campaign of a candidate for the Presidency of Romania, through the use of sums of money ... [that] could come from the commission of crimes, being subsequently introduced into a money laundering process," prosecutors said in a statement.

Although they did not name the individual, the declassified documents centered on the campaign by Calin Georgescu, who won the November 24 first-round vote despite preelection surveys giving him just single-digit support. 

The investigations will also look into violations of the law prohibiting organizations and symbols of a fascist, racist or xenophobic nature, the statement added.

The documents, prepared by Romania's intelligence agency, spoke of "an aggressive promotional campaign, in violation of electoral legislation, and an exploitation of algorithms to increase the popularity of Calin Georgescu at an accelerated pace."  One said that Romania had been targeted by "aggressive Russian hybrid actions," including cyberattacks.

Georgescu, who among other things wants to end Romanian support for Ukraine amid Russia's invasion, has called the court's decision a "coup". He has declared zero funds spent on his campaign, which was largely carried out via TikTok.

Russia has denied interfering in the election.

tj/sms (AFP, Reuters)