Romanian far-right firebrand politician Diana Sosoaca, barred by a top court from standing for president last year, is taking a fresh stab at running for Romania’s top job in the May redo.
The Member of the European Parliament for the nationalist S.O.S. Romania party filed her candidacy on Thursday at the Central Election Bureau, which has 48 hours to register or reject.
The Constitutional Court barred her from last year’s race, arguing that her public statements hostile to the European Union and NATO, made her ineligible to uphold Romania’s pro-Atlantic path.
The court’s decision last year drew strong criticism from some civil rights groups and politicians, who said there were no legal grounds to ban her.
The first round is scheduled for May 4 with a runoff on May 18. The deadline for presidential candidates to submit applications is midnight Saturday.
Sosoaca’s bid comes days after the Constitutional Court rejected an appeal by populist Calin Georgescu, who sought to overturn a ban on his candidacy to take part in the redo. The Central Election Bureau refused his candidacy on Sunday.
Romania was plunged into political turmoil after the Constitutional Court canceled the presidential election two days the Dec. 8 runoff following intelligence reports that Russia had mounted a campaign to promote Georgescu. Moscow has denied meddling.
Romania’s decision to cancel the election and ban Georgescu from the race has been criticized by members of Donald Trump’s administration and the Kremlin,
So far, Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan is standing as an independent, while Crin Antonescu, is the joint candidate backed by Romania’s governing coalition.
