Romanian election: What the hell is going on?

His positions on NATO and the EU — he has been highly critical of Romania’s involvement with both — stoked fears that he would rip up the country’s international alliances and turn instead toward Moscow. He has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as a leader and a patriot, and vowed to end all Romanian aid to neighboring Ukraine — which would be a big step at a critical time for Kyiv. 

Even so, millions of Romanians were attracted to Georgescu’s traditionalist campaign and had been ready to vote for him on Sunday’s runoff against Lasconi. He won more than 2.1 million votes in the first round when competing against seven other main candidates, after parading his belief in traditional family structures and his Romanian Orthodox faith. 

Georgescu now says he’s a victim of a plot by the political elite to keep him out of power and thwart the will of the people, likening his treatment to that of Donald Trump by the establishment in the United States. 

Even his main opponent, Lasconi, denounced the court’s decision, saying Romania’s democracy was being “trampled” by the state. Georgescu used the same phrase.

The risk in the court’s decision is that more Romanian voters may now lose faith in the country’s political system. While central Bucharest were calm Friday evening, there was a heavy police presence on the streets. The contest has attracted public demonstrations from thousands of people in recent days. 

What happens next?

Georgescu said he will file a complaint with Romania’s Supreme Court, but there’s no clear legal route to overturning the Constitutional Court ruling. He has not said yet whether he intends to stand again in the rerun election.