Romania prohibited the extreme right -wing candidate Calin Georgescu participating in his presidential electionswhich triggered street protests and risked the anger of the Trump administration.
Georgescu, the favorite and whose cause has been defended by President Donald Trump’s team, described the decision of the electoral authorities as an attack on the “world democracy”. He has 24 hours to appeal to the Constitutional Court, which annulled his victory in the previous vote in December.
“Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is under a tyranny!” Georgescu said in an X publication, the social media platform owned by multimillionaire Elon Musk. “I have one more message! If democracy in Romania falls, everyone will fall! ”
The Trump government has shown great interest in the May 4 elections in Romania, and has urged the Bucharest authorities to allow Georgescu to present again. Vice President JD Vance questioned the credibility of Romania’s democratic institutions in a speech pronounced at the Munich Security Conference in February, saying that the decision to cancel the elections was based on “weak” intelligence information.
Musk, a Trump key ally, has repeatedly criticized the ruling of the highest court, qualifying the president of “tyrant.” Last month, Romanian prosecutors allowed self -demonstrated “misogyn” Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, who face positions of rape and trafficking of people, go to the United States. Both brothers have publicly supported Trump.
The Romania Electoral Office said it rejected Georgescu’s candidacy at a meeting held on Sunday after receiving more than 1,000 complaints, mostly for adopting antidemocratic and extremist positions. Georgescu is known for praising the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
The protests that exploded in Bucharest and other cities on Sunday indicate a new increase in political risk in a key member of the Eastern Flank of the European Union and the organization of the North Atlantic Treaty.
Tear gas
Several thousand protesters met in front of the electoral office and some tried to face the riot police, which responded with tear gas.
Romania’s main parties have had difficulty finding a rival for Georgescu, who was a little known figure in Romania’s ultra -nationalist scene before his electoral success last year.
Surveys indicate that it has between 40% and 45% support and serious possibilities of becoming president. The previous measures of the authorities against Georgescu only increased their popularity and feed the distrust of state institutions.
“This decision is a continuation of the coup d’etat initiated in December”, George Simion, leader of the largest opposition party on the extreme right, aur.
Georgescu has appeared as a victim of an elite intrigue.
Prosecutors have submitted six criminal charges against Georgescu in an investigation into their previous campaign, for which he declared not to have received financing. He is also accused of leading a fascist organization and making false statements about the financing of the campaign. If he is guilty, he could be imprisoned and he would be prohibited from being submitted to a public office.
Georgescu supporters have also been subject to scrutiny: last month, the police made raids in the properties of their campaign manager. Weapons were discovered in the properties of several mercenaries that have supported it, including those of Horathiu Potra, a former member of the French Legion.
Potra admitted having traveled to Moscow before last year’s elections, but denied having met with high -ranking Russian officials.
In Sunday’s statement, The Electoral Office cited the annulment of the result of the previous presidential election by the Constitutional Court.
“It is impossible to consider that the same person, Calin Georgescu, now fulfills the criteria to aspire to become president of Romania,” according to the statement.
