George Simion, the leader of Romania’s far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), has received approval to enter the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for May. This announcement was made on Saturday by Romania’s electoral bureau.
Simion’s candidacy follows Georgescu’s exclusion
Initially, Simion had withdrawn from the race in favor of ultranationalist Călin Georgescu, who had unexpectedly won the first round of the presidential election last November. However, after Georgescu was disqualified from participating in the May election, Simion decided to announce his candidacy. The decision to bar Georgescu from the ballot was confirmed by Romania’s highest court, citing concerns about external influences on the electoral process, particularly the alleged interference from Moscow.
Collaboration with fellow candidates and challenges ahead
Alongside Simion, Anamaria Gavrilă, leader of the far-right Party of Young People, has also declared her intention to run. The two candidates have stated their commitment to defending the “sovereignist movement” in Romania. They have indicated that if both are approved to run, one of them will step back to avoid splitting the vote.
In response to the electoral bureau’s decision, Simion remarked on his Facebook page,
“We passed the [electoral bureau], now let’s see if we pass the [Constitutional Court] and return to democracy.”
The electoral bureau also turned down the candidacy of another far-right figure, Diana Șoșoacă, who plans to appeal this decision.
To qualify for the presidential race, candidates are required to gather at least 200,000 signatures. Simion has reported that he successfully collected 604,000 signatures and anticipates that Gavrilă will also achieve a substantial number.
In the previous round of voting, which was ultimately annulled, Simion finished fourth, trailing behind Georgescu, liberal candidate Elena Lasconi, and the center-left Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.