A minister in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has been condemned for meddling in Romanian elections after making a phone call to a presidential candidate, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Romanian authorities accused Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs, Amichai Chikli, of meddling in the country's internal affairs after a public phone call with far-right presidential contender Calin Georgescu last week.

According to the publication, Chikli and Georgescu's talk was extensively shared by far-right media groups in Romania and throughout the world. It was observed that Georgescu had previously lauded the anti-Semitic Iron Guard, which was known for its ruthless persecution of Jews.

Romania held legislative elections Sunday only one week after Georgescu's victory in the first round of the presidential election, which sent shockwaves across the country and beyond.

The Save Romania Union (USR) emerged as the frontrunner in the Romanian parliamentary elections, according to preliminary results released by the Permanent Electoral Authority. With 0.15% of the ballots counted, USR is leading in both legislative chambers.

In the Chamber of Deputies, USR has secured 43.57% of the vote, while in the Senate, it leads with 48.02%. These early results reflect a strong performance by the liberal party, positioning it ahead in the race for control of Romania’s legislature.

A runoff is set for December 8. Georgescu's strong performance was surprising, as polls had initially projected much lower support for him.

During his campaign, Georgescu used TikTok to promote traditional values, while also praising the Romanian military.

Georgescu described NATO's ballistic missile defense system in Deveselu, Romania, as a "shame of diplomacy." He maintains that the North Atlantic Alliance would not defend its members if they were attacked by Russia.

Under Romanian law, the candidate who secures more than half of the votes from registered voters wins the presidential election. If no candidate achieves this threshold, a runoff is held two weeks later, with the winner determined by a simple majority.

It is worth mentioning that earlier this year, construction started on what is set to become the largest NATO base in Europe, located in Romania.