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Calin Georgescu, whose first-round election victory was annulled last year, is facing several charges he describes as political
Dozens of demonstrators gathered in front of a Bucharest court on Wednesday where Romanian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu was attending a hearing. The activists were seen waving flags and chanting slogans in support of the politician, who is currently fighting several criminal charges.
In November, Georgescu, a critic of NATO and the EU and an opponent of aiding Ukraine, secured an unexpected first round victory in the national presidential election. However, his victory was soon annulled by Romania’s Constitutional Court citing alleged irregularities in the funding of his campaign.
Last week, as Georgescu was about to file his candidacy for a re-do of the presidential vote, he was arrested by Romanian authorities and indicted on six criminal charges, including alleged “voter bribery,” “promoting fascist, racist, or xenophobic ideologies” and incitement to actions against the constitutional order. The politician has since been released under the court’s supervision, barring him from leaving the country, making social media posts, or appearing on TV.
On Wednesday, dozens of protesters gathered outside the 1st District Court in Bucharest and were seen waving Romanian flags and chanting Georgescu’s name as he faced prosecutors. After he came out of the building, he was swamped by journalists.
As reported by the Digi24 news outlet, Georgescu stated that the judges had decided to postpone the hearing until Thursday after the politician’s lawyers requested more time to examine documents.
“I trust the magistrate judge,” Georgescu was quoted as saying. “I am very confident in the ruling that will take place tomorrow. […] My lawyers have made it very clear how things stand,” he said.
Georgescu reaffirmed his innocence and that the charges against him are a “political case.” Following his arrest last week, he also asked US President Donald Trump for help against what he described as a political prosecution campaign organized by the Romanian “deep state.”
Trump’s government efficiency czar, Elon Musk, has since also condemned the actions of the Romanian authorities, describing them as “messed up.”
US Vice President J.D. Vance similarly criticized Bucharest while speaking at the Munich Security Conference in February, suggesting that some “old entrenched interests” in Romania were using “ugly, Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation” to prevent a politician with “an alternative viewpoint” from coming to power.
