If my university proves I cheated on my entry exams, I fully expect them to throw me out, before or after the first day of school.
Because this is what our court did.
If a person is found cheating (and no other interference), that person's exam results will be annulled.
Why do you think this is not the case?
Any party who wishes to participate in the elections will have to start from step 0, from collecting 200k signatures of people who support their candidacy.
That's the problem with analogies: they are always inadequate.
> tend to believe that voters are influenced toddlers who can't be trusted.
No, people tend to believe that things like canoeing financing, income sources, political ads etc. have to be disclosed and monitored.
10 people were competing for president, a position with significant power. Whoever you elect will have powers immediately so you cannot afford to kick cheaters out after the fact, only before.
This election game is played in two rounds. If you find a cheater before the first round, what happens if you remove him? There's 9 left. What about in the second round where it's 1v1? You just gave away the presidency to last candidate.
Romania acted too late in kicking the cheater out. Maybe there were reasons for that, but this means re-running the elections without the cheater might be the lesser evil.