What impact did TikTok campaigns have on the first round of Romanian presidential election? What's your take on the use of the platform in the election campaigns? Do you see any risks for future elections?
It is clear that TikTok has been and is being used by all the politicians in their election campaigns. Some use it better, some less well, some very successfully. Calin Georgescu, I think, stood out by far in this respect. The public sphere has changed so much and the channels of communication are changing so rapidly that politicians have to adapt. TikTok has certainly contributed a lot to
Georgescu's unexpected success of coming first with over two million votes.
If we look at who voted for him, we see that he was the most popular in the 18-26 age group. This shows that this age group, which primarily gets their information from the internet, but most of all from TikTok - and does not really read print media or listen to the radio - voted completely under this influence. The question is always what the regulation is. In the case of Calin Georgescu, the other question is whether he violated the law governing election campaigns in Romania.
There are indications of this, but I 'd rather not say more.
You said the constitutional court's decision to recount votes has only added fuel to the fire. What consequences do you think this could have for the outcome of the presidential elections?
In the complaint lodged with the court a recount request was made for some overseas districts. Due to the time difference, diaspora polls in North America, South America, Canada, and Mexico were still open when the vote had already ended in Romania. Romanian politicians openly encouraged Romanian citizens still voting there to go to the polls in large numbers, and also told them who to vote for, which is clearly a violation.
If the constitutional court had decided on a vote recount in these districts, in these polling stations, then perhaps there would be no scandal,
but more than nine million votes are to be recounted with a parliamentary election coming up in two days.
This has created a huge mistrust in society, and what has been happening for a few hours, a day and a half proves that the consequences of such a decision have not been assessed. In a polarized society, there are already very sharp accusations from all directions, and this is rather unfortunate in every aspect, mainly because it shakes people's trust that the elections are fair and that their vote will determine the future of the country.
Voters are likely to "punish" the big Romanian parties and go to the polls in greater numbers. How can you ensure that the Hungarian community turns out in adequate numbers in the elections?
In the first round of the presidential elections, voters clearly punished the presidential candidates of the two ruling parties. I think that this is not over yet, and it will continue in the parliamentary elections, but to what extent I do not know. Everyone predicts a high turnout, up to 11-12 million voters. Every time we tell everyone what is at stake in the elections and we use every communication channel, saying
no one can stay at home.
Anti-Hungarian forces have grown stronger with 37 percent support, translating to 40 percent of the parliamentary seats. We must protect the community, but for this Hungarians need to help their representatives to secure a position so that we can take action against anti-Hungarians. If we are not there, if we become weaker, it will be impossible to defend ourselves, to protect the Hungarian minority. We must raise awareness to this.
Do you think that the political tension in the period between the presidential and parliamentary elections could escalate? Do you expect protests to take place after the elections, or perhaps a political war?
I cannot answer that today. In any case, we will have to wait to see the result of the recount, as decided by the constitutional court, and see whether the body will then confirm or annul the results of the first round of the presidential election. If the latter is the case, then obviously the first round will have to be held again, which will result in a completely different situation. The consequences of this are unforeseeable in many respects, and I don't want to make any predictions.
We, Hungarians in Transylvania, the Hungarian community, have one thing to do. On December 1, we must not lose. No one can stay home that day. We cannot lose on December 1, we must save ourselves now. The most important thing is to save ourselves, save the community, and then we will have time to deal with other issues.
Cover photo: Hunor Kelemen, president and presidential candidate of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), comments on the first round of the presidential elections in Romania (Photo: MTI/Gabor Kiss)
