Romanian court rejects appeal by far-right politician to lift candidacy banRomania’s top court has upheld a decision to ban presidential election frontrunner Călin Georgescu from standing in a rerun of the vote in May, sparking protest in Bucharest and leaving the country’s far-right parties four days to find a candidate.
Georgescu, an anti-EU, Moscow-friendly populist, surged from almost nowhere to win the first round of the country’s presidential election last year, but the result was annulled by Romania’s top court because of suspected Russian interference.
Amid claims of “massive” social media manipulation, he was placed under criminal investigation last month on six charges including false statements about his campaign financing, fraudulent use of digital technologies and promoting fascist organisations.
He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Romania’s central election bureau said on Sunday it had decided to bar Georgescu’s candidacy for the rerun of the first-round vote, due on 4 May, ruling it “unacceptable” that he should stand after the constitutional court’s annulment of the November vote.
After deliberating for two hours, the constitutional court rejected Georgescu’s appeal against that decision on Tuesday in a unanimous ruling that cannot be challenged. It would publish its reasoning at a later date, the court added.........
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/11/romania-court-rejects-appeal-calin-georgescu-lift-candidacy-ban
