On Sunday, Romania’s bureau also blocked Georgescu from taking part in the May 4 rerun, deeming he violated Romania’s election rules. Romanian authorities suspect an alleged Russian operation behind his highly successful TikTok campaign.
Moscow on Tuesday denied any links to Georgescu, calling the accusations “complete nonsense” and “absolutely groundless.”
Romania’s election turmoil is also closely watched from Washington, as United States President Donald Trump’s administration has supported the idea of allowing Georgescu to run: Both Trump’s powerful billionaire adviser Elon Musk and U.S. Vice President JD Vance had condemned November’s election annulment, and on Sunday Musk retweeted posts on X denouncing the election bureau’s decision, saying it was “crazy.”
Georgescu has appealed the Central Election Bureau’s decision, which the Constitutional Court will begin reviewing on Tuesday.
