Georgescu's far‑right bid rejected, sparks protests in Romania
The Romanian Central Election Bureau rejected the candidacy of the far-right, pro-Russian Călin Georgescu in the presidential election on Saturday, his spokesperson reported on Sunday. Georgescu's supporters tried to break through the police line and storm the commission building. Cobblestones and tear gas were used.
Georgescu described the commission's decision as "a direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide!."
"I have one message left! If democracy in Romania falls, the entire democratic world will fall! This is just the beginning. It’s that simple!" he wrote on the X platform. "Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is under tyranny!"
"This is madness," commented Elon Musk, a billionaire and advisor to President Donald Trump, on the invalidation of Georgescu's candidacy on X as well.
The CEB's decision can still be appealed to the Constitutional Court - reminded Bloomberg agency.
Riots in front of the CEB headquarters
Supporters of Georgescu gathered in front of the Central Election Bureau headquarters in Bucharest. After the Bureau announced its decision, they broke through the police barriers and attempted to storm the building. The security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Clashes occurred between demonstrators and the gendarmerie. The cotidianul.ro service reported that some of the protesters began to pull out cobblestones and throw them at the police officers. Bushes in front of the office were also set on fire.
Many demonstrators held Romanian flags and chanted: "The last resort is another revolution!"
Riots also spread to neighboring streets, where many groups of protesters threw bottles, firecrackers, and stones at the police. Some built bonfires in the middle of the streets.
The police, as confirmed by their authorities, used tear gas multiple times to disperse aggressive demonstrators. They also detained at least two aggressive protesters and identified several dozen people.
According to the police report, one group of demonstrators attacked a Digi24 news television car, overturning the vehicle. At the moment of the assault, there were no journalists in the car.
Two police officers were injured during the clashes.
The Central Election Bureau's decision is not the end of the problems
Georgescu, a far-right politician, unexpectedly won the first round of presidential elections on November 24. However, at the beginning of December, the Romanian Constitutional Court decided not to recognize the election results and to repeat the vote. The court argued that Georgescu’s electoral team committed electoral law violations and lacked transparency in campaign financing. It also pointed out possible Russian interference in the election process.
The Romanian prosecutor's office investigated suspected electoral fraud against Georgescu. He was accused of, among other things, irregularities in presidential campaign financing, promoting anti-Semitic content, spreading hate speech, and actions against constitutional order. Bloomberg agency reminded him that if he is found guilty, he could be imprisoned and barred from seeking public office.
