Romanian prosecutors open in rem criminal case over 2024 presidential election annulment
Romania's prosecutors confirmed on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, a criminal case over the annulled December 2024 presidential election, opened on 27 July 2026 after more than 600 complaints from a civic association.
Prosecutors confirm the case
The prosecutor's office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice (PICCJ) confirmed on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, that its criminal investigation section holds file no. 48/76/P/2026 on the annulment of the presidential election held in December 2024. Prosecutors ordered the investigation in rem on 27 July 2026, which means it targets the alleged acts rather than named individuals. The office described this step as a mandatory stage under the Code of Criminal Procedure for complaints that meet legal conditions. The statement was issued after information about the case appeared in public, and it confirmed the file in response to the complainants' request.
Given the non-public nature of the criminal investigation, no further information can be communicated.
The complaints and the alleged offences
The file was built from more than 600 complaints lodged by an association. According to judicial sources, the complaints came from the Association for Freedom and Social Equality (ALES), acting through its civic project 'Valul Democrației' (Democracy's Wave), which describes itself as apolitical. The complaints list seven offences: forming an organised criminal group, crimes against humanity, abuse of office, complicity in usurping a function, obstructing the exercise of electoral rights, bribery and unjust repression. They name officials who held senior posts, including former president Klaus Iohannis and former prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, as well as ministers, military leaders, intelligence heads, and current and former Constitutional Court members. The movement's website puts the number of alleged perpetrators at 60, and the prosecutor general and two prosecutors are also named.
Background to the annulment
The annulment followed the first round of voting, in which Călin Georgescu and Elena Lasconi had qualified for the runoff. The Constitutional Court then decided to annul the entire electoral process, so the second round never took place. The complainants seek to establish any criminal liability connected to that decision and to the circumstances that preceded it. The criminal file concerns the events of 2024 and the handling of the complaints since then, not a new vote.
A complaint against the prosecutors
A separate criminal complaint filed by ALES targets prosecutors, auxiliary staff and officials of the General Prosecutor's Office. The association accuses them of deliberately blocking the inquiry into the annulment by keeping hundreds of citizens' complaints in a drawer. According to ALES, more than 600 citizens filed criminal complaints from December 2025 against those it considers responsible for the events of 6 December 2024. The office allegedly refused to register them as 'P' files and grouped them under one administrative number, 2193/VIII-1/2025, which the association says blocked any criminal investigation. ALES says the Judicial Inspection confirmed this blockage in a resolution of 8 April 2026 that recorded 589 unresolved complaints in that file. The association asks for an investigation of four offences: abuse of office, favouring the offender, intellectual forgery and negligence in office.
We are not asking for a predetermined outcome. We are asking for the law to be respected!
Timeline and what comes next
The dates in the file run from the December 2024 annulment to the prosecutors' confirmation on 14 October 2026. Complaints began in December 2025, the Judicial Inspection resolution followed on 8 April 2026, and the in rem investigation was ordered on 27 July 2026.
- Presidential election annulled after the Constitutional Court's decision
- More than 600 citizens begin filing criminal complaints, according to ALES
- Judicial Inspection resolution notes 589 unresolved complaints in file 2193/VIII-1/2025
- Prosecutors order in rem investigation under file 48/76/P/2026
- Complainants send the request that the prosecutors' official letter answers
- Prosecutors publicly confirm the criminal case
No individual has been charged, and prosecutors said they cannot release further details while the investigation is non-public. ALES asks that its new complaint be registered as a criminal file immediately, that all officials and prosecutors involved be identified, and that registers, electronic records and paper documents be preserved. It also asks for checks on conflicts of interest, referral to the Judicial Inspection, and suspension of those named where the law allows. The association says its demand does not seek a finding of guilt against the politicians or judges who annulled the election, only an obligation on institutions to examine criminal complaints.