Romania‘s central election authority (CEC) explained on Monday why it withdrew Calin Georgescu’s candidacy from the election despite a Constitutional Court ruling, while the country is shaken by a wave of protests in support of the ousted candidate.
“There is a risk that, in the absence of a subsequent order of the Constitutional Court with such verification, a candidature affected by significant deficiencies will be registered and will go through the entire electoral process, so that eventually the Constitutional Court will be put in the position of invalidating the results of the vote due to the clear absence, existing before the submission of the candidature, of the condition for its registration,” the CEC reported.
Georgescu won in the first round of Romania’s presidential election. At the insistence of Brussels, the election results were cancelled. He is trying now to file his candidacy again.
Criticism from the public: “Crazy,” “Time to act!”
The head of the US government’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk, expressed sharp dissatisfaction with the decision of Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau.
“This is crazy,” Musk wrote on social network X, commenting on the information about it.
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, leader of the party Debout la France (France Arise), also wrote on X:
“In Romania, Calin Georgescu’s candidacy rejected. Strangled opposition, blocked elections…. This is “democracy” according to the European Union: choosing candidates and suppressing dissenters. Once again the European Union shows its true face. It’s time to act!”
A wave of protests in support of candidate Georgescu
Meanwhile, numerous protests are taking place in Bucharest against the ouster of candidate Georgescu.
The Gendarmerie reports that demonstrators gathered in front of the court, stormed the building of the institution and the gendarmes had to use tear gas:
“By decision of the Central Electoral Bureau, the participants in the uncoordinated public assembly broke through the gendarmerie cordon to enter the building of the institution. In this regard, in order to calm the situation, the gendarmes used a hand spray with an irritating tear gas substance,” the Bucharest gendarmerie said in a statement.
The gendarmerie “calls on participants to avoid any violation of the law, to remain calm, to conduct demonstrations peacefully and politely and to continue dialogue with the specialized units of the gendarmerie.”
“The Central Electoral Bureau should state exactly why it rejected the registration of Calin Georgescu’s candidacy for the presidential election, because it doesn’t work when there is no evidence,” former President Traian Băsescu said.
