Georgescu, a critic of NATO who has praised Romania's 1930s fascist leaders, turned to Europe's top human rights court after failing to reverse the decision by Romania's Constitutional Court in local courts. The ECHR ruled that his appeal fell outside its remit.

Romania's coalition government approved on Thursday a re-run of a two-round presidential election on May 4 and May 18 as previously agreed, and tightened campaign rules for big social media platforms including TikTok.

Călin Georgescu, the far-right candidate who emerged as the favourite at the first round of the annulled presidential election in December, is leading in an opinion poll based on him running in the vote rescheduled for May.

Europe's top rights court on Tuesday rejected Romanian far-right candidate Calin Georgescu's appeal against the annulment of the country's 2024 presidential election after he won the first round amid claims of Russian interference.

The unprecedented cancelation of Romania’s vote drew condemnation from across the political spectrum, including from Georgescu’s ideological foes. His would-be opponent in the now-canceled runoff, reformist candidate Elena Lasconi, said Romania’s democracy was being “trampled” by the state.

The protest follows the court’s December decision to annul the election just two days before a scheduled runoff. Far-right populist Calin Georgescu had stunned many by winning the first round on November 24,

Călin Georgescu, an independent far-right candidate with pro-Russian sympathies, surprisingly won the first round of the presidential election on 24 November. In response, Romania's Constitutional Court decided to annul the first round of the presidential election and order a full rerun, preventing the run-off from taking place.

Tens of thousands of Romanians marched in Bucharest on Sunday, demanding the reinstatement of the presidential election and the resignation of outgoing President Klaus Iohannis. The outcry follows a controversial