Romanian far-right populist Calin Georgescu has been barred from participating in May's presidential election rerun by the country's Central Electoral Bureau (BEC), triggering clashes between his supporters and police. Last year, Romania's constitutional court annulled November's first round of the vote - in which he came first - after intelligence revealed Russia had been involved in 800 TikTok accounts backing him. The BEC rejected his candidacy on Sunday, saying it "doesn't meet the conditions of legality", as he "violated the very obligation to defend democracy". Georgescu called that decision a "direct blow" to democracy. He now has 24 hours from Sunday's verdict to submit an official appeal to the top court, which should issue a ruling within 72 hours.
In a significant political development, Romania's central electoral bureau has disqualified Calin Georgescu, a far-right pro-Russian candidate, from participating in the presidential election re-run scheduled for May.
Chaos broke out in Romania’s capital as supporters of the far-right populist Calin Georgescu protested the electoral body’s decision to reject his candidacy in a presidential election redo.
