Romania barred far-right frontrunner Calin Georgescu from running in May’s presidential election, in a move that could worsen the country’s political turmoil.
The Bucharest-based electoral bureau invalidated Georgescu’s candidacy, a spokesman from the bureau said on Sunday. It received more than 1,000 challenges to Georgescu’s candidacy mostly related to his anti-democratic and extremist stances. The decision can still be appealed at the Constitutional Court.
The decision to eliminate Georgescu from the May 4 presidential race will likely deepen Romania’s anti-establishment mood and benefit the far-right. Polls showed that had Georgescu run, he would’ve garnered between 40% and 45% of the vote in the first round, giving him a real chance of becoming Romania’s president.
His ouster may also increase the chances for a mainstream, pro-European candidate to win the election, but it could also harm ties with the US. Bloomberg News reported that US officials recently urged Bucharest to let Georgescu run.
“Everyone is watching Romania and how the corrupt system acted,” Georgescu said on Friday, adding that he thinks it’s impossible for his name not to be on the ballot’s list of candidates.
It remains to be seen whether Georgescu will throw his support behind any of the other candidates, such as the leader of the largest far-right opposition party AUR, George Simion, who backed him after the cancellation of the elections.
Prior moves by the authorities against Georgescu, a fringe politician who has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, had only increased his popularity and stoked distrust toward state institutions.
After Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round of last year’s presidential election, the top court annulled the result of the vote, citing suspicions of Russian meddling in his campaign.
That move sparked Romania’s biggest political crisis since the collapse of communism. The cancellation of the vote remains unpopular among Romanians and was also criticized by the administration of President Donald Trump and his allies such as Elon Musk.
Prosecutors brought six criminal charges against Georgescu earlier this month as part of a probe into his previous campaign, for which he declared zero funding. He is accused of leading a fascist organization and making false statements on campaign financing. If found guilty, Georgescu could be imprisoned and barred from running for public office.
Georgescu denies any wrongdoing and continues to claim no funding for his campaign, which he says was exclusively based on volunteers.
