Protests erupted in downtown Bucharest following the Central Electoral Bureau's decision to ban Russian-backed far-right politician Calin Georgescu from running in the upcoming re-run presidential elections.
Georgescu, who is openly supported by the Russian and the U.S. administrations, said this was a "direct hit against democracy."
Following the announcement on March 9, Georgescu's supporters began setting the streets of Bucharest on fire and throwing bottles, stones, and firecrackers at the police. Riot police used tear gas in response.
In November 2024, the relatively unknown Georgescu surprisingly won the first round of the vote. The result was promptly annulled, citing foreign interference in the election process. In connection to the case, Romania expelled the Russian military attache and his deputy for breaching diplomatic rules of conduct.
Now, the Central Electoral Bureau cited technical irregularities in Georgescu's application, as well as the Constitutional Court's decisions to cancel the previous round of voting and ban another Russian-backed candidate, Diana Sosoaca.
Georgescu said he would appeal, and the Constitutional Court will have the final say on his expulsion from the race.
"The decision was inevitable for the health of democracy, but this democracy will need deep repairs after elections in May," journalist Magda Gradinaru told Kyiv Independent.
"Romania's secret services failed in the final goal of preventing this crisis and they will need to be reformed (as well)," she added.
"It is to be seen who will capitalize on Georgescu's electoral ban and to what extent social tensions can morph into violent social movements," said Gradinaru.
"This was a short-term solution, but the extremist populist platform remains, as does Russian pressure, social resentment, and tension. So this may just be the beginning of a crisis that Romania will have to manage in a complicated geopolitical context," she added.
Chris York
Far-right uprising
The leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party, George Simion, said on Sunday evening that "those who organized the 'coup' should be skinned alive in the public square."
He called on people to take part in protests in support of Georgescu.
On Monday morning, Simion claimed his words were a "metaphor," and he asked supporters to protest peacefully. Georgescu appeared publicly, holding hands with Simion and Anamaria Gavrila, the leader of another Romanian far-right project, Party of Young People (POT).
Georgescu was expelled from AUR in 2022 after being briefly investigated for declarations in support of Romania's World War II fascist leaders. Now, Georgescu relies on AUR and POT for support.
In the December parliamentary elections, AUR secured second place with 18% of the vote, while POT gained 6.5%. Both remained in opposition.
"If Simion runs for president, some of the tension created by Georgescu's ban will be eliminated," analyst Oana Popescu Zamfir told Kyiv Independent.
According to her, Simion's recent radical statements are meant to incentivize Georgescu's supporters to vote for him. "It's important for Georgescu to explicitly support Simion," Popescu Zamfir said.
Other candidates Georgescu's electorate may vote for, according to Popescu Zamfir, include former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, former acting President Crin Antonescu, or businessman and politician Gigi Becali.
"If Simion does not run, whoever wins the election will have less legitimacy," Popescu Zamfir said.
Russian attempt to dismantle institutions
The ongoing political crisis began last year with Russian meddling in Romania's elections and the subsequent rise of far-right politicians and their parties.
While not making it into the top five according to most opinion polls, Georgescu suddenly took first place following a two-week viral TikTok campaign that involved working with local influencers. The campaign was artificially boosted, with over 66,000 fake TikTok accounts later banned by the platform.
Georgescu has been actively promoting conspiracy theories and has been vocally supporting Russia. He called Ukraine a "fictional state" and claimed that the eventual partition of its territories is "inevitable" in an interview published on Jan. 29.
The media also found evidence of Georgescu's links to paramilitary and fascist leaders, such as mercenary Horatiu Potra, who manages a group of soldiers in Congo.
On Dec. 8, when the presidential runoff was scheduled to take place, Potra and 20 other people were detained by the police as they were driving to Bucharest carrying weapons and cash.
On Feb. 26, the Romanian Prosecutor General's Office charged Georgescu with "incitement to actions against the constitutional order" and other crimes in a six-count indictment. The charges also included lying about campaign funding and initiating a fascist organization.
According to law enforcement, Georgescu used over 1 million euros of undeclared funds and has been involved in neo-legionarism, a Romanian neo-fascist movement that draws its ideology from the country's Iron Guard militant group active in the run-up to World War II.
Georgescu denied any wrongdoing.
On the same day, the Romanian police found dozens of guns, grenades, 25 kilograms of gold, $3.3 million, and 700,000 Romanian Leu ($152,500) in cash in the homes of Potra and his associates.
On March 5, Russian military attache Victor Makovskiy and his deputy, Evgeny Ignatiev, were expelled from Romania. The move was connected to Georgescu's campaign.
The next day, six people were arrested for allegedly being part of a military organization attempting to overthrow the government with help from Russia.
"These six people are just the visible tip (of the iceberg)," analyst Armand Gosu told Kyiv Independent. "This is the first time Romania openly accuses the Russian Federation of a plot against its state sovereignty."
"They (Russians) can wait years, even decades, that's why it's necessary for the Romanian state to neutralize this (entire) network," Gosu said.
According to Popescu Zamfir, "if eliminating the entire network is not possible, at least beheading these groups would avoid further existential threats."
The rise in disinformation and buildup of far-right groups was missed by the government agency set to protect the country from malicious activity from abroad — its intelligence.
Independent journalist Victor Ilie from the local investigative project Snoop published a series of articles showing how Kremlin-linked creative agencies based in London pump millions of euros to create and promote conspiracy and far-right content in the Romanian digital space.
"While Romanians have been mistrustful of Russia, what confuses a part of the Romanian public now is that the U.S., which was considered the country's main partner, embraced the Russians, and that Georgescu claims that he is not pro-Russian, but pro-American, pro-Trump," Gosu said.
"It's very hard to explain that the Americans are not what they once were," he added. "Now Romania is seen as the EU's weak link that can easily be broken."
Alisa Yurchenko
A glimmer of hope
However, swift action against Georgescu and his associates showed that Romanian authorities were still eager to fight back.
The crisis had also catapulted some new faces that are now set to challenge the far-right at the ballot, among them acting President Ilie Bolojan and Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, who are gaining popularity.
"Acting President Ilie Bolojan has done some damage control — organizing press conferences, which journalists missed, meeting up European leaders in a period when Romania seemed to be quarantined, transmitting key messages — has given the feeling that there is a clear political direction for the country and it has been a good move," said Gosu.
"(Bolojan and Dan) can re-legitimize institutions and the democratic process," said Gradinaru.
