Only two weeks out from Presidential Elections, Romanian voters face a tough decision in deciding on the next leader of their country. The latest opinion polls show that nearly 40% of voters are still undecided on who to vote for. After all, most voters already cast their ballots for a now-banned candidate last December. 

The first round of elections initially took place last year on November 24th, with results showing independent candidate Cǎlin Georgescu as the front-runner. Georgescu’s early lead came as a shock since he was relatively unknown prior to elections and trailed far behind in early polls. An agronomist with a limited political background, Georgescu was able to build a solid support base of young people via propaganda on the social media platform, TikTok. Georgescu holds controversial opinions including pro-Russian views and support for the fascist WWII leader of Romania who joined forces with Hitler. 

In December, the results of the first round were annulled following intelligence reports of evidence indicating cyberattacks and Russian attempts to influence the election in Georgescu’s favor. The elections were then postponed until May. Georgescu calls the annulment of the first election an “attack on democracy.” Additionally, in March of 2025, Georgescu was officially banned from the election do-over and is under criminal investigations on six counts. Following the decision, violence erupted on the streets of Bucharest, with supporters declaring the result to be undemocratic. According to the Central Election Bureau, the ban of Georgescu was due to his not meeting the correct legal requirements. The decision fueled conspiracy claims by right-wing extremists in Romania that this is a scheme by the UN to prevent Georgescu from coming to power. While untrue, the Romanian right-wing is using this conspiracy theory to fuel paranoia and distrust in the government system in order to gain power.  

While resisting Georgescu’s rise to power is arguably necessary, the radical action taken of banning him from the race has sparked concerns. Critics argue that the action threatens polarization, diminishes democratic norms and serves as a pretext for the threat of greater aggrandizements used by the opposition. 

Claudiu Tiffs, a Political Science professor in Bucharest, notes that supporters of democracy in Romania are having two different reactions to the decision. On one hand, some feel critical of banning candidates without proper justification and without taking previous steps. Georgescu could have been stopped originally from running via regular judicial process due to his support for fascist groups. Tiffs claims these critics believe since this resource was not used initially, the late decision by the Constitutional Court weakens Romanian democracy. Additionally, it allows for Georgescu and the far right party to gain power through fueling paranoia. A second group of supporters of democracy feel that while it wasn’t necessarily a democratic decision, Georgescu’s election would have been disastrous for Romania. Democratic supporters have been effectively split due to these varying views on how the decision should have been made.

The decision to bar Georgescu from the election has deepened the divide in Romania and fueled discontent in the political state of the country, further polarizing Romanians. Political Scientist Milan Svolik states that the deeper a society’s political divisions, the easier it is for a populist leader to swoop in and exploit these divisions. Unfortunately, this seems to be the case for Romania as Georgescu’s far-right ally George Simion leads the opinion polls right ahead of the elections. The case in Romania serves as a cautionary tale for other democratic countries. It emphasizes the importance of using democratic tools to oust would-be authoritarians, even when doing so is slow and complex, rather than using undemocratic shortcuts that may backfire in the long run.