Romania’s top court on Tuesday banned far-right populist Calin Georgescu from running for president, ending months of questions about the legitimacy of the candidate whose unexpected win of the first round of presidential elections plunged the country into political turmoil.
The Constitutional Court on Tuesday upheld an earlier decision by the Central Electoral bureau to bar Georgescu, 62,over his failure to guarantee free and fair elections and uphold democracy. The ruling is final.
Reacting to the ban, Georgescu, who is known for his conspiracy theories, said: “My mission is over.” He said he had “exposed the demon in all its ugliness” appearing to refer to “the system” which he has always claimed not be part of, believing it to be hostile to him.
“I remain a president of peace,” he added.
The political crisis came after Georgescu came from nowhere to win the first round of presidential elections. The Constitutional Court canceled the runoff after intelligence reports over fraudulent use of digital technology instigated by Russia and undeclared campaign financing. Moscow, which supports Georgescu, has denied meddling.
Hundreds of supporters gathered Tuesday ahead of the ruling. They shouted “You thieves!” learning that he would not be able to run in the May election. There was a heavy police presence days after clashes between his supporters and riot police which left 14 police injured.
The ruling was a major setback for Romanian nationalist parties who have surged in recent months and after parliamentary elections now control about one-third of Parliament. They have until March 15 midnight to find another candidate for the election
Ahead of the ruling, the Kremlin spokesman on Tuesday said that the upcoming election would ‘illegitimate’ without barred pro-Russia front-runner.
Any presidential election in Romania that takes place without the participation of Călin Georgescu is “illegitimate,” Russia said Tuesday, two days after Bucharest banned the far-right front-runner from the May redo of the presidential race.
“This is a violation of all democratic norms in the center of Europe,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing. . “Any elections that take place without him will be illegitimate.”
On Sunday, Romania’s election bureau blocked Georgescu from taking part in the May 4 rerun, deeming he violated Romania’s election rules. Romanian authorities suspect an alleged Russian operation behind his highly successful TikTok campaign.
Moscow on Tuesday denied links to Georgescu, saying they were“complete nonsense” and “absolutely groundless.”
Romania’s election turmoil is also under scrutiny in Washington as President Donald Trump’s administration has supported the idea of allowing Georgescu to run
Trump’s billionaire adviser Elon Musk and U.S. Vice President JD Vance had slammed November’s election annulment. On Sunday Musk denounced the election bureau’s decision, saying it was “crazy.”
