Romania's prominent opposition leader says 'Europe is now a dictatorship' after election authority rejects his candidacy

On Sunday, Romania's Central Electoral Office (BEC) rejected the candidacy of sovereigntist leader Călin Georgescu for the presidential election scheduled for May. This ruling has sparked a wave of controversy and protests in the country.

The decision, approved by a majority of ten votes to four, comes at a time when Georgescu was leading in polls of voting intentions, which has intensified accusations of political manipulation and led the candidate to declare that "Europe is now a dictatorship."

The candidate used his X account and noted: "A direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide! I have one message left! If democracy in Romania falls, the entire democratic world will fall! This is just the beginning. It’s that simple!"

"Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is under tyranny!"

According to sources quoted by the Romanian media G4Media, the rejection of the candidacy is based on "irregularities of both form and substance" detected in the documentation submitted by Georgescu.

A key point in the decision was his patrimonial declaration, which showed discrepancies compared to the one submitted for the November 2024 elections, whose first round was annulled by the Constitutional Court due to suspicions of Russian interference. However, no concrete evidence of criminal acts was provided to justify the exclusion of the candidate, which has fueled criticism about the legitimacy of the process.

Reactions on the ruling

George Simion, chairman of the sovereigntist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party, called the decision a "new abuse" and framed it as part of "a coup d'état initiated on December 6," referring to the annulment of the previous elections.

He also demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and denounced what he considers the Romanian government's authoritarian drift. In the same vein, Anamaria Gavrilă, of the Party of the Oppressed for Labor (POT), stated that "we are in a dictatorship" and defended that Georgescu's documentation met all legal requirements, suggesting that the veto responds to political rather than technical motivations.

The controversy sharpens when contrasting Georgescu's treatment with that of other candidates. At the same session, the BEC analyzed Nicușor Dan's candidacy, submitted on the same day, and approved it without objection. This disparity has increased suspicions that the decision against Georgescu could be influenced by his sovereigntist ideology and his discourse critical of the European Union and NATO, positions that have made him a polarizing figure in the Romanian political landscape.

The rejection of his candidacy comes amid political tension following the events of late 2024, when Georgescu won the first round of the presidential election with 22.9% of the vote. However, the Constitutional Court annulled that result based on declassified intelligence reports that pointed to evidence of "Russian hybrid attacks.” These reports pointed to a massive campaign favoring the candidate on social media, particularly on TikTok.

Sunday's protests reflect the growing discontent of a section of the Romanian population that sees Georgescu as an alternative to the traditional political establishment, which is accused of corruption and ineffectiveness.

For his part, Elon Musk commented on the veto, saying "This is crazy!"

Meanwhile, Romania is at a critical juncture, with a contested democracy and a climate of polarization that threatens to escalate if tensions are not resolved.