The Constitutional Court of Romania has rejected the appeals of former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu against a ban on his candidacy in upcoming elections, a move supporters have claimed is an affront to the democratic process.
In a final and binding decision, the Constitutional Court of Romania unanimously rejected 11 appeals launched by former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu against the Central Electoral Bureau’s (BEC) ruling to ban his candidacy in the May elections on the grounds that he allegedly failed to “respect the rules of the electoral procedure” and “violated the obligation to defend democracy. ”
Georgescu’s appeal claimed that the BEC’s decision on Sunday contained “procedural irregularities” and that the body had outsourced its competency to the Constitutional Court, Romanian broadcaster Digi24 reports.
The court controversially intervened in last November’s presidential election after Georgescu secured a surprise victory in the first round of voting. Amid allegations that Russia interfered to help his campaign, the court annulled the election to prevent the populist candidate from advancing to the second round.
While he has been critical of the war in Ukraine and has advocated for better relations with Moscow, Georgescu has denied being “pro-Russian”, describing himself as a “Romania First” candidate along the lines of President Donald Trump in the United States.
Apparently accepting the ruling, Georgescu said in a statement on Facebook on Tuesday evening: “My dears, you are the ones who must choose what you want for the future, and I hope that from now on, you will do it with all your conscience. For me, it was an honour to serve you with all my being.”
“We are the people! We are Romania! Thank you,” he added.
Frontrunner of Romania’s Annulled Election Georgescu Indicted Just Days After Vance Democracy Warninghttps://t.co/EMUieoCiB5
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 26, 2025
Last month, while on his way to file his candidacy for the rescheduled elections, Georgescu was arrested and charged with “incitement to actions against the constitutional order,” the “communication of false information,” making “false statements”, and the “initiation or establishment of an organization with a fascist, racist or xenophobic character”.
The court’s move on Tuesday to affirm the ban on his candidacy sparked fresh protests, with thousands of supporters flocking to central Bucharest and shouting “freedom” and “thieves.”
George Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), the largest party in the Romanian parliament, criticised the Constitutional Court’s decision, writing: “Shame! Shame! Shame!”
Simion added: “You won’t beat us! The Romanian people have already woken up! And [Georgescu] will be victorious!”
Another Georgescu ally, Party of Young People (POT) leader Anamaria Gavrilă, said that “some judges, on their conscience, decided not to let me and millions of other Romanians choose who we really want to be the president of the country.”
Condemnations also came in from abroad, with Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini declaring: “This is a Soviet-style Euro-coup, not Democracy. This is a very serious precedent, a disgrace in the heart of Europe that cannot and must not go unnoticed.”
