Romania rejects anti-Western candidate's presidential bid

By Lejla Biogradlija and Gizem Nisa Cebi

ANKARA/ISTANBUL (AA) - Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) on Sunday rejected the candidacy of independent politician Calin Georgescu, a staunch critic of the West and NATO, for the coming presidential election on May 4.

Georgescu led the first round of the annulled November 2024 election.

In a statement, the BEC announced that it had reviewed applications from four independent candidates for the rescheduled election.

The commission confirmed that Georgescu’s bid was denied along with two other independent candidates, while one candidate’s application was approved.

A more detailed explanation is expected to be released later.

Georgescu criticized the ruling, claiming that Europe was under a "dictatorship,” warning that "if democracy falls in Romania, the entire democratic world will fall."

Shortly after the announcement, large crowds of Georgescu’s supporters gathered in front of the BEC’s headquarters in the capital, Bucharest.

Footage shared on social media showed clashes between protesters and police as some demonstrators attempted to breach the security perimeter.

In the first round of the annulled presidential election on Nov. 24, 2024, Georgescu secured around 22.95% of the vote, placing first, while Elena Lasconi of the center-right Save Romania Union (USR) party advanced to the runoff with 19.17%.

However, Romania’s Constitutional Court later annulled the results following legal challenges.

Georgescu contested the ruling, but both the Bucharest Court of Appeal and Romania’s Constitutional Court upheld the decision to invalidate the election.

Romanian voters will now head to the polls on May 4 for the first round of the new election, with a potential runoff scheduled for May 18.