Chaos broke out in Romania’s capital Sunday evening as incensed supporters of the far-right populist Calin Georgescu protested the electoral body’s decision to reject his candidacy in a presidential election redo. He won the first round of last year’s race before a top court annulled the election.
The 62-year-old Georgescu filed his candidacy on Friday in the capital, Bucharest. The Central Election Bureau, also known by its Romanian acronym BEC, had 48 hours to register or reject it. In its decision, the BEC cited the country’s Constitutional Court ruling last year to cancel the election, arguing it was ordered due to “the candidate’s failure to comply with electoral regulations.”
“It would be unacceptable for the restarted election process to consider the same individual as eligible for the presidency,” BEC said. The decision can be appealed before the Constitutional Court within 24 hours.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside BEC’s headquarters to express anger over its decision, with many waving Romanian flags and chanting: “The last resort is another revolution!” Some protesters threw broken paving stones and other objects at the scores of riot police dispatched to the area, overturned a news vehicle and set a bush ablaze.
Credit: Yahoo news