Romanian far-right populist appeals against poll ban

Romanian far-right populist Calin Georgescu has appealed against the country's Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) decision to bar him from participating in May's presidential election.

Constitutional court judges will meet on Tuesday afternoon to discuss Georgescu's appeal, and a final ruling should be issued the same day.

The BEC rejected his candidacy on Sunday after a 10-4 vote, saying it did not "meet the conditions of legality", as Georgescu "violated the very obligation to defend democracy".

Last year, the court annulled November's first round of the vote - in which Georgescu came first - after intelligence revealed Russia had been involved in 800 TikTok accounts backing him.

In his appeal, Georgescu said that the "BEC exceeded its legal powers". He also argued that the constitutional court's decision on the November election should have no bearing on his candidacy for the upcoming vote in May.

In a social media post, Georgescu also called the ban a "direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide".

The electoral bureau's decision sparked unrest in Bucharest on Sunday evening. Clashes broke out between police and Georgescu supporters who had gathered in their thousands outside the offices of the BEC.

The BBC saw at least one car turned over, and the windows of neighbouring bars smashed. At least four people were detained.

Georgescu put out a video on social media thanking the Romanian people but adding that "we should not give birth to violence or other forms of this kind compared to how it was last night. We are moving forward with great confidence for the future of this country".

A few hundred demonstrators gathered in the city centre on Monday evening, many of them waving Romania's national flag. There was no repeat of the clashes on Sunday night.

The crowd stood behind fences set up by police, chanting their anger at the constitutional court inside the giant building across the road.

"The court has to defend our democracy and our constitution. But they don't do this," Eugen told the BBC, arguing that the court's election rulings have been politicised. "They lost their meaning."

Around him, the crowd burst into regular chants of "Romania wake up", "The Constitutional Court is Garbage!" and "Georgescu is our president!".

Some voiced conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic, like Georgescu does. One young man, his face covered "for security" was openly homophobic, saying that the far-right politician appealed to his own "conservative" and "orthodox" views.

Another group described themselves as "hooligans" and didn't want to speak on camera.

The grievances were varied, but all talked of their disillusion with a ruling class they called corrupt and far from the people.

"They sold out our country. We have to send our kids abroad for work. We can't be successful and have a family here. They destroyed that. But they can't take our right to vote," factory worker Elena told the BBC.

Like several people we spoke to, Elena did not vote for Calin Georgescu in the first round of presidential elections in November, which was later overturned. At that point, she had not heard of him.

But the controversy over the cancelled vote has propelled the far-right populist into the spotlight and increased his support.

Now the crowd want him reinstated as a candidate.

George Simion, an ally of Georgescu and the leader of the far-right opposition Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR), parliament's second-largest party, said on Monday that Romania was in "the midst of a coup d'état".

In a video on Sunday night, Simion called for "those who committed the coup to be skinned in public for what they did... Whether you like Calin Georgescu or not, he is the man Romanians voted for".

The Romanian prosecutor general has opened a case against Simion for instigation of violence, and on Monday he rowed back on the comments, saying he was using a "metaphor".

On 26 February, Georgescu was detained for questioning on his way to register as a candidate in the May election, prompting tens of thousands of Romanians to march on Bucharest's streets in protest.

Georgescu - a fierce EU and Nato critic - came out of almost nowhere last year to lead the first round two weeks ago amid allegations of Russian interference. He has since seen some support from the Trump administration.

Last month, US Vice-President JD Vance accused Romania of annulling the elections based on the "flimsy suspicions" of Romanian intelligence and pressure from its neighbours.

And Trump adviser Elon Musk posted on X, saying: "How can a judge end democracy in Romania?"