Romania Bars Far-Right Pro-Russian Candidate from Presidential Election Re-run

On Sunday, Romania's central election body decided to bar Calin Georgescu, a far-right and pro-Russian political figure, from taking part in the country's presidential election re-run scheduled for May. This decision resulted in immediate backlash from far-right party leaders, who criticized the move as undemocratic and noted the possibility of challenging the ruling before Romania's constitutional court.

The announcement of Georgescu's exclusion prompted several dozen of his populist followers to stage a protest outside the election bureau. Demonstrators shouted slogans such as "Freedom" and made a momentary attempt to breach the security line guarding the bureau premises.

Calin Georgescu formally entered the presidential contest last Friday, although there were already widespread doubts regarding whether his candidacy would be permitted. Previously, Romania's constitutional court had canceled the original presidential election just two days prior to the second round in December. The court cited concerns over alleged Russian interference that was thought to specifically benefit Georgescu, an accusation officially denied by Moscow.