Romanian Court Annuls Presidential Election

Europe’s efforts to contain a resurgence of nationalism and Russian interference entered dangerous new territory on Friday when Romania canceled a high-stakes presidential election, just two days before a runoff vote that an ultranationalist candidate had been well positioned to win.

The dramatic decision to call off Sunday’s election and annul a first round of voting, which was on Nov. 24, was taken by Romania’s constitutional court, which said it had acted “to ensure the correctness and legality of the electoral process.”

Calin Georgescu, an ultranationalist and the front-runner in Sunday’s aborted vote, in a video statement swiftly denounced the court’s ruling as “a legalized coup d’état” that “took democracy and trampled it underfoot.”

Claiming that he had God on his side, Mr. Georgescu, an Orthodox Christian who often talks of his faith, said a win for his camp was assured because “victory belongs to God.” But he stopped short of calling on his supporters to take to the streets in protest, urging them to “be confident, be courageous and remain faithful to our common ideals.”

“They will not be able to stop us,” he added.

The ruling threw Romania, a strategically important NATO member state that borders Ukraine, into political tumult, escalating a crisis that began last month when Mr. Georgescu stunned Romania’s political establishment by winning the opening round of the race for the presidency against 13 other candidates.

It is the worst bout of political turbulence in Romania since the overthrow and summary execution of its communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu on Christmas Day in 1989, highlighting the perils facing Europe as it wrestles with a surge of nationalist sentiment, particularly in countries on its formerly communist eastern fringe.