Romania’s contentious ban on a far-right candidate

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Romania’s democracy is under greater strain than at any time since its early post-communist years. The authorities have banned the far-right Călin Georgescu from a rerun of presidential elections in May. Three months ago they annulled the first round of a presidential poll that Georgescu topped, after intelligence reports alleged he had illegally benefited from an influence campaign sponsored by Moscow. US vice-president JD Vance and the Kremlin have found common cause in denouncing the ban. Many will feel discomfort, whatever they may think of Georgescu, over a prominent candidate being barred from the ballot in an EU democracy, and the precedent this could set.

Not widely known until a few months ago, the contentious Georgescu has voiced admiration for 1930s Romanian fascists, and after recent questioning by prosecutors gave what appeared to be a Nazi salute. He has criticised Romania’s commitments to the EU and Nato, praised Vladimir Putin — and Donald Trump — and wants to halt Romanian aid to Ukraine.

The former soil scientist is also under criminal investigation for misreporting campaign finances and allegedly attempting to undermine the constitutional order with the help of fascist groups, which Georgescu denies. Prosecutors are investigating 21 others with links to Georgescu, including Horaţiu Potra, a military contractor, and say raids on their addresses last month found a large cache of weapons and hidden cash.

Romania’s constitutional court in December annulled the first presidential vote after declassified intelligence reports described a covert campaign to benefit Georgescu, though evidence linking it to Russia was sparse. The operation was said to include cyber attacks, misinformation and sabotage, and a pattern of payments to influencers particularly on TikTok — though Georgescu declared he had spent no money on a social media campaign. Georgescu denied receiving Russian support and said he had no control over what supporters might have done in his name. But Romania’s election authority this week blocked his registration for the May rerun, saying he had violated electoral rules that were essential to uphold democracy and the rule of law.

It would have been better for Georgescu to be allowed to run in May, with robust institutional safeguards in place and his sometimes bizarre utterances subjected to the full glare of media and voter scrutiny. It is true that Romania’s democracy is among the EU’s most fragile, and has already shown itself vulnerable to manipulation. Senior Romanian officials say privately they have more detailed evidence on Georgescu.

If so, Romanian authorities should be explaining to their allies, chiefly the US, why the ban is necessary. The outcome has played into the US administration’s attempts to depict the affair as an attack on free speech and democracy.

More importantly, the authorities should also make as much evidence public as possible. Voters who cast their ballots in large numbers for Georgescu last year deserve a complete and convincing explanation of why they will not have the chance this time.

Banning Georgescu has triggered protests from his supporters, and risks only swelling a protest vote for an alternative far-right candidate. The incident highlights again the need for Romania and all European democracies to tighten election monitoring and controls on outside interference in the digital era.

But it is a warning, too, for Romania’s mainstream parties, which, even more than in many EU counterparts, have failed in a series of often sleazy and ineffectual governments to satisfy the demands of voters. It is this, above all, that has opened the way for the rise of radical candidates such as Georgescu.