Romania’s Constitutional Court has denied candidate Calin Georgescu, who is accused of ties with Russia, permission to participate in the presidential elections. After the verdict was announced, Georgescu’s supporters began chanting slogans demanding that he be allowed to run in the election, and police reinforcements were called to the court building.
Last November, Georgescu led the first round of Romania’s presidential elections with just under 23 percent of the vote, edging out Elena Lasconi, the leader of the center-right party Save Romania Union, who secured slightly more than 19 percent. After the election results were announced, Romania’s intelligence services declassified documents related to Georgescu’s campaign, stating that Romania had become the target of “aggressive hybrid actions by Russia,” including against the electoral commission. In early December, the Constitutional Court annulled the election results entirely.
In late February 2025, Georgescu was detained for questioning at the General Prosecutor’s Office, charged with six offenses (including spreading false information), and released on his own recognizance. In early March, the Central Electoral Commission rejected Georgescu’s application to run in Romania’s repeat presidential election, leaving him the option to challenge the decision in the country’s Constitutional Court.
Georgescu is considered a pro-Russian candidate. He has stated that, if elected president, he would halt military aid to Ukraine and discontinue Romania’s role as a transit corridor for Ukrainian grain exports through the Port of Constanta and Romanian territorial waters.
### From TikTok to the ticket A pro-Russian outsider is suddenly close to the Romanian presidency. Here’s what a Georgescu victory could mean for Ukraine and NATO.### From TikTok to the ticket A pro-Russian outsider is suddenly close to the Romanian presidency. Here’s what a Georgescu victory could mean for Ukraine and NATO.