A Romanian court upheld legal restrictions against Calin Georgescu, the hard-right frontrunner of Romania’s cancelled presidential election pending a criminal investigation on charges that include undermining the constitutional order.
Prosecutors formally opened a criminal investigation last month on six counts including membership of a fascist organization, promoting war criminals and lying about campaign financing. Georgescu has denied all wrongdoing.
A Bucharest district court said his appeal to end preventative measures was “unfounded”.
The investigation came after Romania’s Constitutional Court invalidated the presidential election in December amid allegations of Russian interference, which Moscow denied.\
Under the preventative measures, Georgescu cannot leave Romania, bear firearms or post xenophobic or antisemitic content on social media.
Also Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights said it has rejected a challenge by Georgescu against the cancelled election.
The 62-year-old NATO skeptic remains voters’ top choice in opinion polls ahead of a planned rerun of the presidential election in May, although it remains unclear whether he will be allowed to run.
He has praised Romania’s 1930s fascist leaders as martyrs which is banned in Romania and carries a prison sentence. Cases were rarely prosecuted prior to the cancelled election.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk have criticized Romania for cancelling the election. However, German, British French and Dutch ambassadors expressed support for Romania’s decision to annul the election.
