Romania’s presidential election: 11 candidates make the cut for May polls

As many as eleven of the 26 candidates who had submitted their nominations for Romania's presidential election in May will compete for the country's highest office.

As of March 20, the candidacies became final after all steps and deadlines outlined by the election calendar were completed, ensuring that the 11 names will appear on the ballot, Caliber.Az reports via Romanian media.

Voters on May 4 will have the following candidates to choose from:

• Nicuşor Dan (Independent)

• Crin Antonescu (Alianţa România Înainte)

• Victor Ponta (Independent)

• Elena Lasconi (USR)

• George Simion (AUR)

• Lavinia Şandru (PUSL)

• Cristian Terheş (Partidul Naţional Conservator Român)

• John-Ion Banu-Muscel (Independent)

• Silviu Predoiu (Partidul Liga Acţiunii Naţionale)

• Daniel Funeriu (Independent)

• Sebastian-Constantin Popescu (Partidul Noua Românie)

An exceptional case involved Anamaria Gavrilă, President of the Party of Young People (POT), who had received clearance from the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) and the Constitutional Court (CCR) to run. However, she announced her withdrawal from the race on Wednesday evening in favour of AUR leader George Simion, the candidate of the sovereigntist movement.

Gavrilă had entered the race following the exit of Călin Georgescu. She explained her decision on Facebook, stating, "To give the sovereigntist movement the best chance, supported by the people of Romania, I chose to step back. I have done everything I could in this struggle and trust in the decision made."

Furthermore, the BEC referred two candidates—Sebastian-Constantin Popescu of the Party of the New Romania and independent John-Ion Banu-Muscel—to criminal investigation authorities to verify the authenticity of the supporter lists submitted with their candidacies.

Five of the candidates—Elena Lasconi, George Simion, Cristian Terheş, Silviu Predoiu, and Sebastian-Constantin Popescu—also ran in the previous year's presidential election, with Lasconi advancing to the second round alongside independent Călin Georgescu. However, the Constitutional Court later annulled the election.

Among the rejected candidacies were those of Călin Georgescu and Diana Şoşoacă, President of SOS Romania. The BEC cited decisions by the Constitutional Court as the basis for rejecting their candidacies.

In the case of Georgescu, the BEC explained that it could not prioritise the formal aspects of his candidacy, given that the Constitutional Court had already ruled on the fundamental issues surrounding it. "The BEC cannot give precedence to formalities over the fundamental issues already settled by the Court," the decision read.

The BEC also referenced a decision by the Constitutional Court when rejecting Şoşoacă’s candidacy, as her statements were found to be contrary to constitutional values.

The BEC’s decisions regarding Georgescu and Şoşoacă were contested, but the Constitutional Court upheld the rejections.

Georgescu's exit from the race led to the candidacies of George Simion (AUR) and Anamaria Gavrilă (POT) being submitted, both of which were contested but allowed to remain in the electoral race. Gavrilă later announced her withdrawal in favour of Simion.

A further 11 candidacies were rejected due to insufficient supporter signatures. Notably, Remus Pricopie, rector of SNSPA, who had submitted his candidacy as an independent, acknowledged that he lacked the necessary signatures, criticising the law’s requirement for 200,000 signatures as undemocratic.

Other rejected candidates included Petru Mîndru, Maria Marcu, Ion Popa, Matei Vanea, Paul Ispas, Constantin Vieriu, Oana Creţu, Gelu Drăgan, Constantin Titian Filip, and Gicu-Romeo Tiţă.

Following the finalisation of the candidacies by March 22, the order of candidates on the ballot will be determined within 48 hours.

By Aghakazim Guliyev