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A man gestures toward security forces during an anti-government rally in Bucharest, Romania, March 1, 2025.
Tumult as Romanians defend far-right leader
Tens of thousands of far-right demonstrators gathered in Bucharest on Saturday to protest the Romanian government’s decision to call off a second round of national elections, deeming it an assault on democracy. A rerun of the first round is now scheduled for May 4, but the protesters want the government to reinstate the original result and hold a run-off instead.
Why was the vote canceled? The Romanian courts annulled the pro-Russia, anti-vaccine populist Calin Georgescu’s first-round victory late last year over allegations of Russian interference. A month later, protesters took to the streets, and in February, US Vice President JD Vanceslammed the decision as anti-democratic during his contentious address at the Munich Security Conference.
Last Friday, Romania’s pro-European coalition government survived a vote of no confidence, after a trio of hard-right parties accused the coalition powers of corruption. Authorities had detained Georgescu on Wednesday – notably, as he was en route to register as a candidate again – and charged him with giving “false information, false statements,” setting up an organization with “fascist, racist, or xenophobic characteristics” and forming an antisemitic organization, among allegations.
What’s next? The dissent means that, as GZERO Media’s senior writer Willis Sparkswrote on Wednesday, the once-obscure Georgescu now “may not need alleged Russian backing to win” in May – should he remain on the ballot.Romanian far-right presidential election candidate Calin Georgescu delivers a press statement at the Bucharest Court of Appeal, in Bucharest, Romania, on Dec. 19, 2024.
What to do with Romania’s Georgescu?
Last November, a Romanian election generated shock headlines across Europe when an obscure pro-Russia, anti-vaccine populist named Călin Georgescu finished first in the initial round of voting. Authorities determined that his rise to sudden prominence was fueled by a well-financed, slickly produced campaign on social media platform TikTok – and they blamed the Russian government, so far without proof, for funding it.
The Romanian government then annulled the election result, drawing criticism from US Vice-President JD Vance during a controversial speech earlier this month on threats to democracy in Europe.
But Romanian authorities face a problem: They’ve annulled the election but haven’t yet found a way to annul Georgescu’s candidacy for the election re-run scheduled for May. Now that he is no longer obscure, he may not need alleged Russian backing to win.
On Wednesday, Georgescu was taken into custody by police as part of an investigation into possible violations of an anti-extremism law. His detention makes clear that over the next three months, Romania will be on the frontlines of the fight between hard-right populists and political establishments, many of them unpopular, across Europe.
Romanian independent far-right presidential candidate Calin Georgescu gives a statement outside his voting station after the annulation of the presidential elections, in Mogosoaia, Romania, on Dec. 8, 2024.
Pro-EU Romanians form a unity coalition ahead of election rerun
Leaders of the Social Democratic party and their current coalition partners, the center-right National Liberal party, the opposition centrist Save Romania Union party, and the ethnic Hungarian party UDMR, are trying toforge a common election platform to pool their strength against any recurrence of the first result. They may even agree to back a single presidential candidate.
Declassified intelligence found that someone created thousands of social media accounts to promote pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu – who said he had spent no money on his campaign – on TikTok and Telegram. On Monday, Romanian investigators arrested two men for allegedly planning to trigger protests at the court’s annulment of the result.
The Kremlin denies any political interference in Romania, a former Warsaw Pact country that’s now an EU and NATO member.
Romanian independent far-right presidential candidate Calin Georgescu poses for a portrait in Bucharest Romania, on Dec. 4, 2024.
Romania braces for presidential runoff
Romanians head to the polls Sunday for a presidential runoff that could lead to significant foreign policy changes for the country – and profound implications for the war in Ukraine.
Who’s running? Far-right candidate Calin Georgescu, a critic of both NATO and the EU, faces pro-European centrist Elena Lasconi. Georgescu, 62, is pro-Russia and emerged as a surprise front-runner in the first round of voting on Nov. 24 amid claims that Russia manipulated the election through paid TikTok influencers. Romania’s constitutional courtupheld the first round result this week, butnewly declassified Romanian intelligence documents suggest a certain “state actor” did its best to sway voters in Georgescu’s favor.
What’s at stake? Lasconi, 52, is framing the election as a choice between NATO and Russia. “We must choose between NATO protection and Putin’s war,” she warns. Georgescu declared that if he wins, he will oppose grain exports and military aid to Kyiv.
In Romania, the president has authority in matters ofnational security and foreign policy, and also gets to choose which party forms a government following Romania’s Dec. 1 parliamentary vote, which saw the right make significant gains. Georgescu has said he will pick a premier who shares his “Romania first” vision.
Opinion polls showGeorgescu leading with 60% of decided voters, though 40% of voters remain undecided, and the outcome could hinge on voter turnout.
Supporters of the radical right Alliance for Uniting Romanians wave Romanian flags following the first exit polls, at the party’s campaign headquarters, on the day of the parliamentary election, in Bucharest, Romania, on Dec. 1, 2024.
Romania repels the right – for now
However, the country still needs to hold a crucial presidential runoff on Dec. 8 – following first-round results from Nov. 24. Afterthe surprise first-place finish of populist candidate Calin Georgescu – an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin – Romania’s Constitutional Court ordered a recount amid accusations of electoral interference by Moscow andTikTok, throwing the election in doubt.
On Monday, however, the court unanimously upheld the first-round result. Georgescu now faces center-right contender Elena Lasconi. If he wins, it could strain relations with Brussels and weaken support for Ukraine – which Georgescu has called “an invented state” – while a Lasconi win would reinforce Romania’s pro-EU position. While the prime minister is the head of government,the president has key decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy matters and nominates prime ministerial appointments, with the power to dissolve parliament if their choices are twice rejected.