Sawt Falasteen - Far-right Romanian candidate appeals presidential vote ban

Romania's electoral bureau on Sunday rejected Georgescu's candidacy for the May re-run of last year's annulled presidential election, which could spell the end of his meteoric rise and has already sparked outrage among his supporters in Bucharest.

Georgescu on Monday filed an appeal against the decision, which the 62-year-old -- a fierce EU and NATO critic -- has slammed as "a direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide".

The decision is "blatantly unlawful" and that the electoral bureau "has impermissibly arrogated to itself the exclusive competence of the constitutional court," Georgescu said in the appeal.

The Constitutional Court in a statement confirmed receiving the appeal and will meet on Tuesday at 5:00 pm local time (1500 GMT) to examine it.

Georgescu, a former senior government official, shot to prominence almost overnight to unexpectedly win the first round of a presidential election last November as an independent candidate.

In a shock move, Romania's constitutional court annulled the ballot shortly before the second round in December, after claims of Russian meddling and a "massive" social media promotion of Georgescu.

Georgescu appealed the annulment, which was also slammed by US tech billionaire Elon Musk and US Vice President JD Vance, but his petitions have so far been rejected, and he submitted his candidacy for the May re-run last week.

Georgescu has opposed sending aid to Ukraine and previously expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, but denies any links to Moscow. He has recently presented himself as "ultra pro" US President Donald Trump.

- 'President the people want' -

Dozens of Georgescu's supporters gathered outside the court on Monday to protest the ban on him standing in May.

They chanted Georgescu's name and shouted "give us back the second round" of the presidential vote.

One supporter, business owner Ionel Mitrofan, 48, said he had "not much hope" the appeal would succeed.

"We hope for the leaders of the country to change the trajectory in the right direction, for us to have the president the people want," he told AFP.

Hundreds already rallied against the electoral bureau's decision late Sunday, with clashes between protesters and law enforcement officers leaving 13 injured.

Georgescu is currently leading opinion polls and was projected to win around 40 percent of votes in the May re-run.

In a statement on Sunday, the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) said it had rejected "the independent candidacy" of Georgescu for May's re-run based on the top court's annulment of the November ballot.

- 'Black page' -

Another far-right politician, George Simion, the leader of the AUR party, called the BEC's decision as "a serious abuse and attack on fundamental rights" and "a new episode" of a "coup d'etat".

"This is a black page in our fragile democracy," he said.

Simion, whose AUR -- the Alliance for the Union of Romanians -- has thrown its support behind Georgescu, said he expected the independent to "exhaust all legal avenues".

A political analyst, Radu Magdin, told AFP that the rejection of Georgescu's candidacy "opens the way for another candidate".

In the far-right camp, Simion is well positioned to take over, although other politicians from different political groups could also take advantage of the situation.

Last month, prosecutors indicted Georgescu on numerous charges, including making "false statements" over his campaign financing, as well as "attempts to instigate actions against the constitutional order".

Georgescu has been placed under judicial control, meaning he will have to report to authorities regularly.

Senior members of the US administration have thrown their weight behind Georgescu.

"This is crazy!," Trump adviser Elon Musk wrote on X on Sunday in response to the electoral bureau's decision.

W.AbuLaban--SF-PST