Barely known a year ago, far-right candidate Calin Georgescu successfully dominated social network TikTok to emerge the shock winner of Romania's first-round presidential election -- an online campaign that has raised suspicions.

A recount of the votes cast in Sunday's first round of presidential elections in Romania has been ordered by the country's top court following allegations that social media platform TikTok gave "preferential treatment" to the surprise winner,

Romania’s top court ordered a recount after a little-known ultranationalist candidate scored a surprise victory in Sunday’s presidential election, as a security panel said the contest was affected by a cyber operation aimed at influencing the outcome.

By Luiza Ilie and Mara Vilcu BUCHAREST (Reuters) -A senior official at Romania's telecoms regulator called on Wednesday for TikTok to be suspended pending an investigation into the platform's potential role in Sunday's shock far-right victory in the first round of a presidential election.

Romania's presidential election was thrown into chaos Thursday as a court ordered a recount of first-round results and security officials alleged that interference via TikTok had boosted a little-known far-right candidate.

Cyberattacks in Romania have aimed to influence the presidential elections, as the National Defense Council (CSAT) reported Thursday. One of the candidates received preferential treatment from the social platform TikTok.