Romanian prosecutors launch criminal investigation after hundreds of complaints over cancelled 2024 presidential vote

The Prosecutor's Office linked to Romania's High Court of Cassation and Justice announced that, in July 2026, it began an in rem criminal investigation stemming from a dossier created after an association submitted more than 600 complaints about the December 2024 presidential election being annulled. The file was opened at the Criminal Investigation Section, and prosecutors explained that launching an in rem inquiry is a required procedural measure when complaints meet legal criteria.

The Association for Liberty and Social Equality (ALES), through its "Wave of Democracy" project, lodged the complaints, accusing prosecutors, auxiliary staff and officials of intentionally shelving hundreds of citizen reports. ALES claims the General Prosecutor's Office grouped the complaints under a single administrative number instead of registering them as individual criminal cases, and it is demanding probes into four alleged offenses, including abuse of office and falsification.