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Romanian court upholds Calin Georgescu's exclusion from presidential race
2025-03-11 22:53:22 / BOTA
Romania's Constitutional Court has upheld its decision to ban populist Calin Georgescu from participating in May's presidential elections.
On March 11, Georgescu appealed the decision of the Central Election Commission, which banned him from participating in the presidential elections, as his candidacy "does not comply with the conditions provided for by law."
The decision was unanimous, with all nine judges voting to reject the appeal. Justice Minister Radu Marinescu said the ruling was binding and must be respected. He defended the court's decision, saying that "extremism is unacceptable in a democratic society."
Nearly 500 Georgescu supporters have gathered in front of the Romanian Parliament building, which also houses the Constitutional Court.
Georgescu, who is critical of NATO and opposes Romanian support for Ukraine, which is fighting Russian occupation, was the winner of the first round of the presidential election held in November 2024. However, after the election, Romanian intelligence said that foreign actors, likely Russia, had manipulated social media platforms, especially TikTok, in Georgescu's favor.
In a video posted on Facebook after the Constitutional Court's decision, Georgescu said that the court's decision "was not and is not about Calin Georgescu. It could have been anyone else. The system does not accept anyone who is outside of it."
Saying that he has "exposed the devil and his wickedness," he told supporters to follow their conscience in supporting other candidates.
His supporters have gathered in front of the Romanian Parliament building, where the Constitutional Court is headquartered.
Protesters chanted slogans such as "Georgescu, president", "Down with the dictatorship" and "We do not want to be led by thieves".
Protests in support of Georgescu on March 9 were violent, and dozens of police officers were injured during clashes with protesters.
Nationalist politicians have condemned the court's decision. Georgescu's ally and leader of the ultranationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party, George Simion, wrote on Facebook: "Shame [on the Constitutional Court], shame, shame."
While Georgescu ran as an independent candidate last year, he is affiliated with Simioni's party.
"You will not defeat us. The Romanian people are awake. They will be victorious," he added.
The leader of another nationalist party, the Youth Party, Anamaria Gavrila, also said that "some judges decided not to let me and millions of Romanians choose who we want as president of the country."
However, other politicians welcomed the decision. Elena Lasconi, a liberal politician who was due to face Georgescu in a runoff last month before the election was annulled, said that “Georgescu is just one person in a deeply corrupt and rotten system.”
"Georgescu must be held criminally responsible for all the atrocities he has been accused of in recent months," she said, adding that "all institutions that have been brought to their knees by the wave of disinformation must stand up."/ REL
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