Authorities Reject Georgescu’s Presidential Candidacy Sparking Violence In Bucharest

Romania's Calin Georgescu. Photo Credit: Calin Georgescu, X

 March 10, 2025  

By RFE RL

(RFE/RL) — Romania’s Central Electoral Board (CEB) rejected the candidacy of far-right politician Calin Georgescu from a rerun of a presidential election, sparking clashes between his supporters, angry at the move, and police.

The CEB said on March 9 that it disqualified Georgescu’s application based on the Constitutional Court ruling that halted the original election in November following his first-round win.

“His candidacy does not meet the conditions provided by law, as established by the Constitutional Court in December 2024,” the CEB said.

“Consequently, at the resumption of the electoral process, the members of the BEC consider that it is inadmissible to consider that the same person meets the conditions to accede to the Presidency of Romania.”

Georgescu, who is critical of NATO and opposes Romanian support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, filed his candidacy for the rerun, to be held on May 4, on March 7.

The CEB had 48 hours to accept or reject the application. Georgescu has 24 hours to appeal the CEB move, which prompted hundreds of his supporters who clashed with security forces in front of the Board’s headquarters in central Bucharest.

Pro-Georgescu demonstrators set fire to street furniture and heavy objects at police, who responded with tear gas, law enforcement officials said.

Georgescu and his supporters have claimed Romanian authorities are trying to block his candidacy in the rerun. He reacted angrily to the rejection, calling it “a direct blow to the heart of democracy.”

“I have one message left! If democracy in Romania falls, the entire democratic world will fall! This is just the beginning. It’s that simple!…Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is under tyranny!” he added in a social media post.

The first round of the presidential election was canceled by the Constitutional Court on December 6 after Romanian intelligence reports said foreign actors had manipulated social-media platforms, especially TikTok, to benefit Georgescu, a far-right, pro-Russian candidate.

The annulment of the vote has exacerbated deep divisions in Romanian politics and sparked international concern over the course of democracy in the European Union and NATO member.

Last month, US Vice-President JD Vance made thinly veiled criticism of the country’s moves against Georgescu, telling delegates at the Munich Security Conference that “if your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country then it wasn’t very strong to begin with.”

Georgescu was a little-known figure in Romania until he unexpectedly won the first round of the presidential election on November 24 with about 22 percent of the vote.

The 62-year-old was to face pro-European centrist candidate Elena Lasconi in a runoff, which had been seen as a referendum on the future course of Romania.

Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who supported the Constitutional Court’s decision to annul the election, said the authorities have the right to present the public with extremely solid evidence in the investigation, “which involves a potential candidate in the May elections.”

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on February 10 said he was resigning from his post amid an effort by the opposition to have him impeached after he stayed in power following the Constitutional Court’s election annulment.

Just days before the vote, Georgescu launched a TikTok campaign calling for an end to aid for Ukraine, apparently striking a chord with voters. He has also sounded a skeptical note on Romania’s NATO membership.

His anti-Western messaging is routinely amplified on Russian, state-run media and Kremlin-friendly social media.

His other stances included supporting Romanian farmers, reducing dependency on imports, and ramping up energy and food production.