Romania's far-right pro-Russian presidential contender Calin Georgescu will challenge the decision to ban him from running in the May rerun elections, according to one of his advisers.
Georgescu filed his presidential candidacy on Friday after allegations of Russian interference in his favour forced Romania's constitutional court to annul the original December election. Moscow has denied the allegations of meddling.
On Sunday, Romania's Central Electoral Office said it had decided to ban Georgescu's candidacy, saying it was inadmissible after the Constitutional Court annulled the December vote.
"A direct blow to the heart of democracy around the world!" by Georgescu on social networks. "Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is under tyranny!"
Traitors
The decision sparked riots outside the central electoral office in Bucharest, where hundreds of Georgescu's supporters shouted "Thieves!", "Traitors!" and "Freedom", threw stones and tried to break through the security cordon.
Police used tear gas while protesters tore rocks from the sidewalk, overturned cars and set fire to trash cans.
Objections to decisions of the Romanian Central Electoral Office must be lodged within 24 hours. The Constitutional Court is expected to rule on Georgescu's appeal by Wednesday.
Analysts say the Supreme Court is unlikely to allow Georgescu to run again for president of Romania, an EU and NATO member state that shares a long border with Ukraine.
The court set a precedent when it blocked the candidacy of another far-right candidate in October on the grounds that her anti-European and pro-Russian views made her unfit for office.
If the court upholds the decision of the central electoral body, the three ultra-nationalist parties, which hold 35 percent of the seats in parliament and which supported Georgescu's previous presidential candidacy, risk not having a candidate in the May elections.
George Simion, president of the opposition Alliance for the Unification of Romanians (AUR), the second largest party in the Romanian parliament, said he would meet Georgescu on Monday.
Criminal investigation
Asked if he was considering putting forward his own candidacy, Simion replied: "We are waiting to hear what Mr. Georgescu has to say. We are not ruling out any possibility, but we are not speculators."
Georgescu is being prosecuted on six counts of the indictment, including membership in a fascist organization and providing false information about campaign financing. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Sunday's decision by the tech billionaire and adviser to US President Donald Trump Elon Musk on the social network X called "crazy", threatens to deepen the rift between the transatlantic allies, which has already been shaken by the White House's change in policy toward Ukraine.
While Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance criticized the cancellation, several European diplomats, including the German, French, Dutch and Spanish ambassadors, expressed support for the independence of the Romanian courts.
CMG/ gnews.cz - RoZ
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