Calin Georgescu, the right-wing frontrunner in Romania’s presidential race, claims his disqualification from the election is a political attack similar to those faced by US President Donald Trump.
His removal from the ballot has sparked widespread protests in the capital, Bucharest, as supporters decry what they see as an assault on democracy.
"We are faced with a communist regime as well," Georgescu told Fox News Digital ahead of the Romanian electoral bureau’s decision to bar him from the upcoming May election rerun. The decision came two weeks after prosecutors opened a criminal case against him.
Georgescu had won the most votes in the first round of the election, which was later annulled. The charges against him include "communication of false information," involvement with a fascist organization, and "incitement to actions against the constitutional order."
"They are trying to destroy democracy," Georgescu claimed. "They could not accept to lose the power and access to the money."
He also alleged that Romanian authorities are attempting to "censor all the online sites."
Before rising as a major conservative political figure, Georgescu worked in sustainable development and was involved with environmental efforts at the United Nations. Now, he is fighting to appeal his disqualification, with Romania’s Constitutional Court expected to issue a ruling by Wednesday.
"How can a judge end democracy in Romania?" Elon Musk wrote on X about the controversy.
Romanian officials invalidated the first election over claims that Russia influenced the outcome through a TikTok campaign in support of Georgescu.
The situation was even mentioned by U.S. Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference.
"You can believe it's wrong for Russia to buy social media advertisements to influence your elections. We certainly do. You can condemn it on the world stage, even. But if your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn't very strong to begin with," Vance said.
Georgescu expressed gratitude to US leaders for addressing the issue, though he said he has had no direct contact with American officials.
"I’m pro-Romanian. I have nothing to do with Russia. Moscow has declared that any election held without Georgescu on the ballot would be "illegitimate."
"It has nothing to do with [Russia]. It’s just a copy-paste of the accusations made against Donald Trump. It’s just they changed the name Trump."
Critics have pointed to Georgescu’s past praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him a "man who loves his country." Georgescu says his words have been twisted and that he only advocates for a "peaceful settlement" in Ukraine, accusing his critics of being "allergic to the word peace."
He has been vocal in his opposition to NATO and the European Union and has stated he would cut off all aid to Ukraine if elected.
"We shall stop totally all the contributions related with Ukraine," he said.
