site.btaRomanian Constitutional Court Bars "Russia's Favourite Romanian Politician" from Running for President

Romanian MEP Diana Sosoaca was not allowed to participate in the presidential elections in Romania, scheduled for the end of 2024 after a decision of the Constitutional Court. 

The Court's reasoning, which was published late on Monday, stated that the registration of Sosoaca's nomination violated certain eligibility conditions related to "the values of democracy, the rule of law and respect for the Constitution". The court acknowledged that the nomination of Sosoaca called into question Romania's membership of the EU and NATO, Romanian media reported.

"The right to be elected is not an absolute right and may be subject to certain limitations that derive from the democratic vision of the Constitution", the Constitutional Court argued, adding that it would be unacceptable and contrary to the essence of the democratic process for a candidate not to meet these conditions in the first place and yet participate in the election and, if he wins it, take the faith oath.

It is a well-known fact that the constant discourse of Ms. Diana Iovanovici Sosoaca is an incitement to the alteration of the democratic foundations of the state and violation of the constitutional order, the decision quoted by Digi 24 further states.

"Russia's favourite Romanian politician". Who is Diana Sosoaca?

Diana Iovanovici Sosoaca was born on November 13, 1975 in Bucharest. She is a lawyer by profession. She became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic with messages on Facebook against restrictive measures. The party on whose list Sosoaca entered the Romanian Parliament for the first time in 2020, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), organized dozens of rallies against the anti-epidemic measures, vaccination and the wearing of protective masks.

In 2021, Diana Sosoaca was expelled from the AUR parliamentary group for not following the party's strategy and remained in Parliament as an independent MP. 

In December 2021, Sosoaca gained notoriety beyond Romania's borders, especially in Italy, after Italian TV channel Rai 1 accused her of kidnapping journalist Lucia Goracci during an interview on the COVID-19 pandemic. The case was filled with contradictory claims by the parties involved, but for a fact the Italian woman was arrested on charges of theft and assault made by Sosoaca. The reporter was eventually released after the intervention of the Italian Embassy in Romania.

Sosoaca is often criticized in Romanian media for her links to Russia. According to the Russian media Sputnik, Diana Sosoaca is "politician of 2021 in Romania". 

In March 2022, in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sosoaca and three other MPs met with Russian ambassador in Bucharest Valery Kuzmin to discuss Romania's "position of neutrality" in the military conflict. The group of Romanian MPs did not have approval from Parliament for such an initiative. 

In March 2023, Sosoaca submitted a bill to Parliament that calls for the denunciation of the Romania-Ukraine Treaty of Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation, ratified by law in 1997, and the annexation of territories in Ukraine that belonged to Romania between the two world wars. 

After her expulsion from the AUR, Sosoaca joined the new nationalist party SOS Romania and then became its leader. In the European parliamentary elections in June 2024, she was elected MEP.

The Sosoaca Typhoon hits the European Parliament

A far-right MEP was expelled from the plenary of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on July 18 after she made offensive remarks during a debate after a speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"This is the third time you have done this. I ask that the MEP be removed from the Chamber," ordered European Parliament President Roberta Mezzola at the time after Sosoaca repeatedly disturbed the order in the Chamber. A little earlier, during Von der Leyen's speech, Sosoaca drew attention to herself by waving a muzzle and placing it in front of her mouth - something she has done several times in the Romanian Parliament.

On Tuesday Romanian MEP Siegfried Muresan announced on Facebook that Mezzola had punished Sosoaca for her performance in July by suspending her from the plenary session of the European Parliament for a period of seven days and, accordingly, forfeiting her MEP's salary for that period.

Objections to the application

Two objections had been filed against the candidacy of Sosoaca in Romania's presidential elections, Digi 24 reports. In one of them, Amalia Bellantoni, who is a former running mate of Sosoaca, doubts the validity of the signatures collected in support of the candidacy. The petitioner also points out that Sosoaca is contributing to the spread of Russian propaganda in Romania, insisting that the country adopt a position of neutrality and annex Ukrainian territories. Amalia Bellantoni also draws attention to the aggressive behaviour of Sosoaca, who makes death threats against people.

In the second objection to Sosoaca's candidacy, submitter Mihai Gheorghe Ursa also gives examples of the candidate's "anti-democratic" behaviour, noting her "friendship" with Russia, as well as her anti-Semitic attitude and support for the Legionary movement in Romania between the two world wars, according to Digi 24.

Sosoaca's reaction

"The decision of the Constitutional Court is a complete usurpation of justice and murder of the Romanian nation, Sosoaca stated in her official Facebook profile, adding that the "typhoon Diana Sosoaca cannot be stopped except through lawlessness".

Following the court's decision, the SOS Romania party leader went live on the Youtube channel of a party colleague, promoting the Legionary Movement, a Romanian far-right and fascist organization from the interwar period. Digi 24 points out that Sosoaca paid tribute to the leader of the Legionary Movement, Corneliu Zela Codreanu, and made anti-Semitic calls.

Romanian law prohibits propaganda in favour of persons guilty of genocide or war crimes, as well as fascist, legionary or xenophobic ideas, concepts and doctrines. Such actions are punishable by imprisonment from three months to three years and the banning of certain rights, Romanian media say.

Digi 24 notes that some of Sosoaca's supporters wore rings with Nazi swastikas when submitting her nomination to run in the October 3 presidential elections.

On Monday, the Prosecutor General's Office opened a self-inquiry into the anti-Semitic statements made by Sosoaca and her support for former Legion leader Corneliu Zela Codreanu, Romanian media also reported.

Diana Sosoaca also described the Constitutional Court's decision as "Nazi" and "Stalinist" and commented that the judges had turned her into a "national hero-martyr", Digi 24 further reported. The MEP also complained to the European Parliament on Monday evening, saying they had cancelled her candidacy for the presidency of Romania because she had fought against "muzzling" during the pandemic. Sosoaca told MEPs that her presidential nomination had been cancelled when "the real polls put her first".

According to the opinion polls on the presidential elections in Romania published so far, Sosoaca has been ranked fifth in most cases.

Where will the votes for Sosoaca go?

A key question remains: which candidate will the votes for the leader of SOS Romania go to. Her electorate numbers at least 500,000 people, which was confirmed in the European elections in June.

According to Romanian analysts, the votes for Sosoaca could go to the leader of the other popular nationalist party, Alliance for the Unification of Romanians, Giorgiu Simion, and bring him to a second round on December 8 (the first round of the presidential election is on November 24). 

This scenario makes Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu a favorite for the presidential post, as the eventual runner-up finish of nationalist Simion would lead to a repeat of the 2000 presidential run-off between Ion Iliescu and another nationalist, Vadim Tudor, leader of the Greater Romania party, which was won by Iliescu at the time, Digi 24 notes in an analysis.