Join this event that will begin with a keynote speech by Marta Cartabia, Vice-President of the Venice Commission, President Emerita of the Italian Constitutional Court, and former Minister of Justice of Italy.
The 2024 Romanian presidential elections marked a critical moment in the nation’s constitutional history, calling into question the essence and qualities of electoral integrity and democracy. Initially conducted in November 2024, the elections were annulled by the Constitutional Court right before the planned runoff on December: the Court based its decision on foreign interference, particularly online, hindering the integrity of the vote. Key intelligence findings indicating Russian efforts to influence the election in favour of particular candidates were instrumental in this decision.
This groundbreaking ruling by the Constitutional Court has sparked a wider discussion on the circumstances that allow for the annulment of democratic elections, an ‘extrema ratio’ remedy, including how to provide evidence to demonstrate the interference, in particular when this is perpetrated online.
The event wants to delve into the specific Romanian case and into the topic of election integrity in a digital society. What are the conditions to limit free speech online? As campaigning on social media evolves, what are the circumstances that determine that online campaigning poses significant challenges to the integrity of the election process, and allowing decisions to annul the elections for the safeguard of democracy? What kind of supporting evidence to be produced to justify such decision?