Georgescu's bid for the Romanian presidency was suspended over documentation issues related to campaign funding, prompting him to condemn the decision as undemocratic.
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Romania’s Central Electoral Committee has suspended the application by ultranationalist presidential candidate Calin Georgescu to run in the upcoming elections on Sunday, sparking condemnation and unrest.
The country's electoral committee, BEC, examined the documents filed by Georgescu but decided not to approve the one related to his campaign funding as it did not have the required signature, Euronews Romania reports.
BEC has since justified its decision in a three-page document, stating that Georgescu's actions and statements are in contravention of the values the presidential office requires, while his candidacy goes against the court rulings in late 2024.
Georgescu, dubbed the "TikTok Messiah," came out on top in the first round of Romania's presidential elections in December, which the country's constitutional court annulled following the declassification of intelligence reports showing Russian involvement in influencing voters through social media to support the then-relatively unknown candidate.
The charges also revolve around his support for sympathisers of the Iron Guard, a pre-World War II fascist and antisemitic movement and political party, which is illegal under Romanian law.
Georgescu was quick to condemn the suspension, calling it “another direct blow to the heart of democracy around the world.”
“I have only one message: if democracy in Romania will fall, the whole democratic world will fall. This is just the beginning,” he said in a post on Facebook on Sunday.
“Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is under tyranny,” he added.
The decision sparked immediate protests by Georgescu's supporters, who took to the streets in Romania's capital Bucharest, clashing with the police in front of the electoral committee's headquarters on Sunday evening.
One gendarme was injured in the scuffle when he was hit by a blunt object, but was out of danger, authorities said.
The protests turned more intense after demonstrators hurled rocks and cobblestones at the gendarmerie, which was forced to use tear gas. The media covering the demonstrations have since been asked to take shelter, according to reports.
"We appeal to participants to avoid any violations of the law, to remain calm, to demonstrate peacefully and civilly, and to continue the dialogue with the specialised gendarmerie teams," the police force said in a statement.
Georgescu appealed BEC's decision with the constitutional court on Monday, which now has to issue a ruling by Wednesday.
The first round of the presidential election rerun is scheduled for 4 May.