site.btaUnrest in Bucharest after the Central Election Bureau's Decision to Reject Calin Georgescu’s Candidacy

A decision by the Romanian Central Election Bureau to reject the candidacy of Calin Georgescu in the presidential elections caused chaos in Bucharest on Sunday evening. After the announcement of the decision, tension among Georgescu's supporters gathered in front of the bureau building escalated and reached its peak shortly before midnight.

Scenes of violence also unfolded in Bucharest Old Town, where demonstrators threw stones and bottles at police and journalists, set fire to bushes, trash cans and overturned a car of the Romanian TV station Digi24. The situation calmed down at 2 am. A criminal case has been opened against the protesters who overturned the car, the police said.

The Central Election Bureau cited a ruling by the Constitutional Court last October as the reason for its decision. It stated that presidential candidates must, from the moment of their candidacy, fulfill the oath taken by the elected president of Romania, namely "to respect the constitution and defend democracy." On the grounds that she did not respect the constitution and did not defend democracy, the Constitutional Court rejected the presidential candidacy of MEP and leader of the far-right SOS Romania party Diana Sosoaca in October last year.

Romanian media also reported that another reason for the bureau's decision was the lack of a signature on Georgescu's income declaration. He was briefly detained at the end of February and is currently being investigated on six charges, including membership in a fascist organization and false declaration of campaign financing.