Description: Calin Georgescu’s appeal against the decision of Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau to ban him from the upcoming presidential elections has been rejected by the Constitutional Court. The far – right, anti – NATO candidate was repeatedly accused of severe irregularities in campaign financing and being propped up by Russian media initiatives to win the elections. The Constitutional Court had stated the ban was final and there was no possibility of appealing against it which put Romanian far -right political block in a crisis mode looking for a suitable replacement for Georgescu. In the past couple of days Georgescu’s ban was followed by massive anti – establishment protests which accused the standing Romanian government of crippling the country’s democratic process and imposing violations on political process and civil rights.
Impact: With the final decision of the Constitutional Court, the political upheaval in the country is on its highest level as the election vacuum deepens. Ultranationalist parties have already scrambled to find a replacement for Georgescu amid the rising protest tensions as George Simion, leader of the Alliance for Uniting Romanians appeared as the potential replacement candidate. Romania is currently deeply divided between its pro – EU and NATO establishment and the resurgence of right and far – right political winds which aim to adopt alternative governance methods and principles which mostly aligned with Russian political paradigms. The toppling of the current political establishment is imminent as Georgescu’s ban from the elections swayed the public towards sympathizing with the candidate’s far – right sentiment. Romania’s political crisis could deepen if the current establishment doesn’t transparently justify Georgescu’s ban and guarantee democratic elections in May.