Romania's George Simion bids for the presidency, seeking to rally far-right votes in election rerun

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's populist far-right politician George Simion made his bid Friday for the country's presidential election rerun in May as he seeks to rally nationalist voters after a controversial frontrunner in last year's annulled race was barred from entering the upcoming redo.

Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, is under criminal investigation for inciting violence after last year's first-round winner Calin Georgescu was barred this week from entering the rerun. Simion has denied any wrongdoing and claimed the investigation is politically motivated.

He has been a key figure in recent protests by far-right groups that have denounced a top court's decision to cancel the previous election two days before a Dec. 8 runoff, which Simion has described as a coup to undermine democracy.

Simion submitted his candidacy to the Central Election Bureau in the capital, Bucharest, which has 48 hours to register or reject his bid. Rejections can be appealed within 24 hours.

"Today we have a divided country, a fractured nation,” Simion told reporters Friday. Since communism ended in Romania in 1989, he added, the country's leaders “promised us freedom and prosperity, yet they have given us austerity and confiscated rights.”

“No one is stealing our vote anymore, no one is stealing our country anymore,” said Simion, who came fourth in the first round of last year's race with 13.8% of the vote.

The Constitutional Court voided the election on Dec. 6 after allegations emerged of electoral violations and claims Russia had orchestrated an online campaign to promote Georgescu, who topped the first-round polls as an independent. Moscow has denied the accusations.

Georgescu’s ban from the election redo left Romania’s far-right, which holds about a third of seats in the country’s legislature, scrambling to replace his candidacy. Simion endorsed the 62-year-old in the runoff and became a close ally, positioning himself as his successor. Still, Georgescu has yet to explicitly endorse Simion.

On Thursday, Diana Sosoaca, a controversial Romanian politician who was barred by a top court from entering last year’s election, also filed her candidacy in an unlikely attempt to enter the rerun.

The Constitutional Court barred the 49-year-old Sosoaca last year, arguing that her public discourse, including opposition to Romania ’s European Union and NATO memberships, made her unfit to uphold the constitutional obligations of the presidency.

“I risk being subjected to the same abusive treatment … If they eliminated two, they think they can eliminate a third,” said Simion, who is a vocal supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump. “They annulled elections, banned candidates, mutilated democracy in the name of democracy."

Simion has stirred controversy on occasion. He campaigned for reunification with neighboring Moldova, which has barred him from entering the country. He is also banned from neighboring Ukraine, where authorities cited security concerns.

In 2020, the AUR went from relative obscurity to gaining 9% in a parliamentary vote, allowing it to enter parliament. The party — which proclaims to stand for “family, nation, faith, and freedom” — doubled its support in a parliamentary election on Dec. 1, with 18.2%, becoming the second largest party in the legislature.

The first round of the rerun is scheduled for May 4. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the ballots, a runoff will he held May 18. The deadline for presidential candidacy bids is March 15 at midnight.