Far-right candidate is barred from Romania presidential election

BUCHAREST — Romania’s electoral bureau on Sunday dismissed the candidacy of far-right hopeful Calin Georgescu in next week’s repeat of last year’s annulled presidential election, triggering an angry reaction from supporters in Bucharest.

Georgescu — once an admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin and critic of the EU and NATO — shot to prominence almost overnight, winning the first round of a presidential election last November in a surprise victory.

But in a surprise move, Romania’s constitutional court threw out the ballot just before the second round was due to take place in December, citing allegations of Russian interference and a “massive” social media campaign promoting Georgescu.

The Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) said in a statement Sunday it had rejected Georgescu’s “the independent candidacy” for the re-run in May.

The bureau said the basis for its rejection was the top court’s annulment of the November ballot.

It had determined Georgescu’s candidacy “does not meet the conditions of legality” in that it violated “the obligation to … defend democracy, which is based precisely on fair, honest and impartial” elections.

Georgescu, who currently is leading opinion polls with roughly 40 percent of the vote, can appeal the decision before Romania’s constitutional court.

He condemned the action on X as “a direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide.

“Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is under tyranny!,” the 62-year-old added.

Street clashes –

The ruling from the BEC triggered fights between Georgescu supporters and police in the capital Bucharest, with officials attempting to break up violent demonstrators with tear gas, as a minimum of two officers were injured.

Some hundreds of people protested Sunday night in front of the BEC’s offices, chanting “Down with dictatorship!” while hurling Romanian flags.

According to a police statement, participants of a public gathering “forced their way through the line of gendarmes to enter the premises of the institution,” after a decision by the Central Electoral Bureau.

As tensions flared once more after the BEC released its reasoning, authorities told journalists to “go to a safe area”, as demonstrators set off fireworks and threw objects.

“Even if Georgescu appeals the decision from Sunday, his candidacy is currently KO’d,” Silvia Uscov, a criminal lawyer, told AFP.

Romania has been thrown into political crisis since the first round of the presidential election in late November, when Georgescu, who until then had hardly been known, scored a stunning victory.

Its constitutional court annulled the vote amid charges of Russian interference, a rare step for a member country of the European Union.

Tens of thousands of Georgescu’s backers have taken to the streets in recent weeks and Romania’s authorities have warned of “hybrid actions waged by the Russian Federation to destabilize democracy in Romania”.

US support –

Georgescu — who denies having any ties to Moscow — has described the annulment as a “formalised coup d’etat”.

He has been portraying himself as “ultra pro” US President Donald Trump in regard to sending aid to Ukraine (against).

Prosecutors indicted Georgescu last week on multiple charges, including making “false statements” regarding the funding of his campaign, as well as “instigation to actions against the constitutional order, in attempted form”.

He is also under judicial control — required to report regularly to authorities.

But senior officials in the US administration are lining up behind Georgescu.

“This is crazy!,” Trump adviser Elon Musk said Sunday on X after the BEC’s decision. In recent weeks, Musk had several other supportive comments.

US Vice President JD Vance called out Romanian authorities for “cancelling elections because you don’t like the result”, saying that you are “so afraid of your own people, that you silence them”.

Encouraged by such declarations, protesters at a recent demonstration in Bucharest waved placards reading “Mr. President Trump, we need your help to take back our country” and “Romania wants(p)eace”.

In the front row stood retiree Valeria Cristache, who waved her flag and denounced the head of the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen, shouting with the crowd: “Ursula, do not forget, Romania is not yours!”.