Romania
excludes second far-right poll hopeful
Bucharest
(AFP) – Romania's electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right
hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May's presidential election, amid rising tension
in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll.
Issued on:
15/03/2025 - 16:11
Modified:
15/03/2025 - 20:31
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250315-romania-excludes-second-far-right-poll-hopeful
Sosoaca
has been accused of pro-Russia and anti-semitic views
Earlier in
March, the electoral bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was
polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election.
Georgescu, a
fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence last November when he
unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting.
But the
constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference
and a "massive" social media promotion in his favour.
On Saturday,
an electoral commission statement said it had also taken the "decision to
reject the candidacy of Diana Sosoaca".
It noted
that the country's Constitutional Court had already banned her from standing
last November for making declarations "contrary to democratic
values".
The
electoral office did, however, validate the candidacy of George Simion, leader
Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR).
Following
the exclusion of Georgescu, he is the most prominent figure on the far right
still in the running.
'Fight the
system'
Sosoaca, a
49-year-old Euro MP known for her pro-Russia views posted on Facebook: "I
am proof that we do not live in a democracy." She said she would appeal
the ruling.
On Thursday,
she donned boxing gloves as she filed her candidacy, declaring herself ready to
"fight the system once again" as she bids to "make Europe and
Romania great again", borrowing Trumpian terms.
Sosoaca has
been accused of spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda and anti-Semitic views.
She opposed
anti-Covid measures during the pandemic, and in July 2024 was expelled from
European Parliament in Strasbourg after loudly interrupting debates.
Her small
party, S.O.S. Romania, won 24 seats after securing some seven percent of votes
in December's legislative elections.
Simion's AUR
said banning Sosoaca's candidacy "represents a further blow to Romanian
democracy and a serious violation of fundamental rights and freedoms".
The eastern
European state has been plunged into chaos since Georgescu's surprise emergence
in November on the back of a huge TikTok social media campaign, which was
marred by suspicions of Russian interference.
In a shock
decision, the November election was cancelled and this week Georgescu was
definitively excluded from the election, the first round of which is scheduled
for May 4.
Georgescu's
exclusion led to sometime violent protests.
On Saturday,
several thousand people marched through Bucharest to express their attachment
to the European Union.
© 2025 AFP
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