Romania Bars Another Populist, Right-Wing Candidate From Presidential Election

Romania’s electoral commission has blocked another populist right-winger from running in this year’s presidential election.

The two-round election will be held in May after last year’s vote was scrapped over concerns of Russian interference following the unexpectedly strong performance of Călin Georgescu, who opposes Romania’s membership in the European Union and NATO.

The Central Electoral Bureau rejected the candidacy of Diana Șoșoacă over the weekend. The agency also blocked four other independent candidates, the Romania Journal reports.

The election agency cited Ms. Șoșoacă’s anti-NATO and anti-European Union views as disqualifying. Romania is a member of both organizations.

Prominent Republican voices in the United States have expressed dismay at the rejection of Mr. Georgescu and other nationalist candidates in Romania. Elon Musk has gone as far as to claim in posts on X that decisions connected to the election have threatened democracy.

Vice President Vance also has been critical of Romania canceling the election last year, claiming it was based on “flimsy suspicions” during remarks in Munich last month.

Ms. Șoșoacă claims she is being punished by a “globalist system.” She has pushed for close relations with Moscow and is against providing military aid to Ukraine. “The political class in power does not represent the will of the Romanian people nor is it a legitimate partner of discussions,” Ms. Șoșoacă said in a lengthy Facebook post reacting to the decision.

“We are a peaceful people who want to change the current power and regain our independence and sovereignty, but this is prevented by hateful maneuvers to ban candidates, because Brussels wants to keep control over Romania and push my country into a war that no one can win,” she added.

Ms. Șoșoacă is the president of the S.O.S. Party. It is the second time she has been blocked from the ballot. Ms. Șoșoacă was also barred from running in 2024’s election.

She posted a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump asking him not to recognize the election.

“They have violated the basic democratic rules of holding an electoral vote which provides for the right to run and the right to choose of any citizen,” the letter stated.

Mr. Georgescu was leading in last year’s voting before Romania’s top court annulled the results citing declassified documents that showed the election process was spoiled by vote manipulation, campaign irregularities, and non-transparent funding.

Mr. Georgescu upset a field of candidates that included the sitting prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, of the Social Democratic Party during the first round of voting.

An investigation found an anonymous campaign, which some attributed to Russian agents, helped his TikTok account dramatically surge in likes and followers in the months leading up to the vote.

The anti-EU candidates are leading in the polling in the runup to the new vote, Reuters reported on Monday. Prominent figures George Simion and Anamaria Gavrila both entered the race with an agreement that one would drop out if they were both approved.

While Ms. Șoșoacă was barred from running by the electoral commission, another populist candidate was approved for the ballot. Mr. Simion, an ally of Mr. Georgescu, is the leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians. He was given the OK despite being under criminal investigation for allegedly inciting violence during protests, the Associated Press reported.
“Today, a step forward was taken towards the return to democracy,” he posted to Facebook after his candidacy was approved.