The staunch NATO critic has again been barred from running for the country’s top office.
Romanian presidential hopeful Calin Georgescu has said he will appeal against the decision by the country’s Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) to bar him from taking part in a new election in May, Reuters has claimed citing one of his advisers.
The BEC dismissed Georgescu’s candidacy on Sunday, citing more than 1,000 challenges filed against him. Georgescu was the clear favorite for the election rerun, polling between 40% and 45% in most recent surveys.
Georgescu condemned the decision, stating the EU has turned into a “dictatorship,” while branding his own country a “tyranny.” On Monday, the politician vowed to appeal the ruling with the country’s Constitutional Court.
“We go together all the way for the same values: peace, democracy, freedom,” he said in a video address posted on social media. The politician has also condemned the violence that erupted between his supporters and police outside the BEC building in Budapest on Sunday, urging his backers to abstain from such behavior.
According to Romanian law, the decision of the BEC must be appealed within a 24-hour period, with the top judiciary body obliged to deliver the final verdict on the matter within 48 hours.
Georgescu scored an unexpected win in November’s presidential election first round, receiving 23% of the vote. The result, however, was promptly annulled by the Constitutional Court over alleged “irregularities” in the campaign. The politician is known as an outspoken critic of NATO and the EU, and a staunch opponent of supporting Ukraine.
Preliminary findings of an investigation into the elections scandal, reported by media early this year, indicated the campaign “irregularities” likely were the result of actions of a consulting firm associated with the pro-Western National Liberal Party (PNL). The firm presumably tried to derail another candidate, but accidentally boosted Georgescu instead.
Last month, Georgescu was indicted on six criminal charges, including allegedly plotting “anti-constitutional acts” and “promoting fascist, racist, or xenophobic ideologies.” He has denied all the charges, insisting the criminal case against him was part of a campaign orchestrated by the Romanian “deep state.”
