Thousands of Romanians demonstrated in Bucharest on Saturday in support of the European Union amid political tensions surrounding the upcoming presidential election rerun scheduled for May.
Romania is set to redo its two-round presidential election on May 4 and 18 after the Constitutional Court annulled the initial ballot in December due to allegations of Russian interference favoring Calin Georgescu, the frontrunner in the polls.
The cancellation of the election has positioned Romania at the center of a dispute between Europe and the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump concerning free speech and suppression of political opponents.
Georgescu, who, along with Moscow, denied any Russian involvement, has been excluded from participating in the upcoming election rerun.
Pro-European supporters flooded the streets waving blue EU and Romanian flags, chanting anti-Russian slogans, and holding banners advocating for European unity and rights, such as "Unity and respect - Europe gives us rights," or "Free your mind - No to Russian wisdom."
"Romania has to remain in Europe, not drift towards Russia," emphasized Laura Dumitrache, a 54-year-old nurse.
During the rally, the "Manifesto for Europe," endorsed by over 40 civil society organizations from Romania and the diaspora, was scheduled to be presented.
The Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) approved four candidates and rejected one, an ultra-nationalist, for the presidential race. The BEC's application deadline is midnight on March 15, with decisions on candidate approval due by March 17.
Amid tensions in the registration process, the National Audiovisual Council called on TikTok to remove content encouraging violence against BEC members.
With Georgescu abstaining from endorsing any candidate, the presidential election features centrist, independent competitors, and hard-right candidates vying for office.