The Central Electoral Board of Romania has approved the candidacy of George Simion, the leader of the ultranationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), for the upcoming presidential elections in May. Simion, who is an ally of the far-right populist Călin Georgescu, received the green light to compete after he submitted his registration request on March 14.
The decision comes just days after the Romanian Constitutional Court upheld the ruling barring Georgescu from the presidential race. Simion’s entry into the race follows the refusal of Diana Sosoaca, the leader of the extreme-right party SOS Romania, whose candidacy was rejected by the electoral board on the same day. Elena Lasconi, a pro-European center-right politician, was approved as a candidate.
Simion and Anamaria Gavrila, leader of the far-right Youth Party (POT) and former member of AUR, had announced their intention to run. If both candidates are allowed to compete, one of them will withdraw from the race. Gavrila’s application was expected to be submitted by March 15, the deadline for candidacies.
In the previous election held in November, Georgescu, a staunch critic of NATO and Romania’s support for Ukraine, emerged as a surprising winner in the first round. Simion ranked fourth. Romanian intelligence later revealed that foreign actors, likely from Russia, had manipulated social media platforms, particularly TikTok, to favor Georgescu.
After the November election, the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential results, scheduling new elections for May 4, with a possible runoff on May 18 if necessary.
