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ARCHIVE - Calin Georgescu, the winner of the first round of the presidential election, which was later declared invalid by the Constitutional Court, gestures as he leaves a district court. Photo: Vadim Ghirda/AP/dpa/archived image
Keystone
The Romanian electoral commission has rejected the candidacy of pro-Russian politician Calin Georgescu for the presidential election in May. The committee voted in favor of the decision by ten votes to four, Romanian media reported. The decision is not yet legally binding. The Constitutional Court must decide on the expected appeal by Wednesday.
After the decision was announced, angry supporters of Georgescu broke through the police cordon in front of the electoral commission's headquarters. The pro-Kremlin right-wing extremist had surprisingly won the first round of the presidential election in Romania on November 24 last year. Shortly before the run-off election, the Constitutional Court annulled the first round due to irregularities in campaign financing. The election will be repeated on May 4.
Georgescu had registered his candidacy with the electoral commission on Friday. He had submitted 324,000 declarations of support, 200,000 would have been enough according to the law. By Sunday afternoon, the commission had received 1,200 objections to his candidacy. According to media reports, the electoral commission justified its rejection with incompletely submitted documents.
The criminal charges against Georgescu did not play a role in the decision. The Romanian public prosecutor's office initiated criminal proceedings against the right-wing extremist at the end of last month. Among other things, it accuses him of inciting acts against the constitutional order, making false statements regarding election campaign financing and founding a fascist and anti-Semitic organization. Georgescu is defending himself against the charges and has been released on conditional release.
09.03.2025, 20:49
