Romania’s far-Right party to use lie detector tests to prove candidates’ loyalty

Romania’s far-Right AUR party has announced it will make candidates take lie detector tests to prove their loyalty ahead of European Parliament elections.

The aim is to unearth any “infiltrators” and showcase the party’s commitment to transparency ahead of the key poll, where it is expected to perform well.

“When you go to war you have to ensure team cohesion,” Dan Tanasa, the party’s spokesman, explained on Romanian TV.

Local leaders and potential candidates from the party will be required to pass a polygraph ahead of the elections on June 9, with the first tests due to be carried out on Monday, the party has said.

Mr Tanasa said the test would serve as an “integrity test” to highlight the party’s commitment to transparency before the electorate while also scrutinising the allegiance of its members.

Running on a ticket to “combat globalists and Satanists”, the party is on track to win 12 seats at the European elections owing to the popularity of its strong pro-Christian and anti-immigration message.

The party’s national management office has outlined plans to tour the country to vet all eligible candidates and ensure they are on message.

“I plan to dedicate at least the next two weeks to travelling across the country, meeting all our candidates, and validating their credentials to prevent any potential embarrassments,” George Simion, the party leader, said on social media.

Downplaying concerns surrounding the initiative, he added: “In my experience, those exhibiting fear, reluctance or resistance are typically the traitors, individuals who prove unreliable in times of need.”

‘We just can’t ask directly’

According to Mr Simion, the polygraph tests will help identify potential “infiltrators”, including those affiliated with intelligence services. “We just can’t directly ask for their service card,” the AUR leader said in a TV interview, adding that not having them would be “very strange”.

Cristian Terheș, a former social democrat who now tops the AUR’s candidate list, said that Romanians faced a simple decision at the polls between “sovereignty or vassalage; freedom or tyranny”.

The AUR’s rise mirrors a trend of populist, far-Right parties gaining popularity across Europe including the AFD in Germany, Vox in Spain and the Slovak Nationalist Party.

However, an internal spat in the AUR spat has led to Marius Lulea, one of the party’s founders, being suspended for opposing Mr Simion’s choice of candidate for the Bucharest mayoralty race.

The party is no stranger to controversy, having earlier in 2024 hinted at plans to annex Ukrainian territories if Vladimir Putin wins the Russia-Ukraine war.