Romanian politician Calin Georgescu joined a rally organized yesterday by the far-right Alliance for the Unification of Romanians (AUR), stating from the podium at Victory Square in Bucharest that an attempt is being made to block his candidacy for the presidential elections in May, Agerpres reported, quoted by BTA.
"We can only be free if we are united. The system tried through evil to divide us, but this united us even more. What God unites, no one can separate, neither man nor system (...) Let us walk the path to freedom," said Georgescu, who won the annulled first round of last year's presidential election.
Earlier this week, prosecutors filed a series of charges against him, including "incitement to act against the constitutional order" and "creation of a fascist organization," and imposed a 60-day judicial review on him.
"The old and new chocos are trying to block my candidacy again," Georgescu said, referencing the title of a classic 19th-century Romanian novel. "I want to be judged by all of you, through your free vote. It is your right to decide who to choose, not someone else's," Georgescu also said.
"I did not choose to run for myself, I do not matter, but you matter for Romania (…) Your children will be proud of you, because the future belongs to those who stand up, not those who kneel before foreign international forces. Romania should never be on its knees," stressed Georgescu.
The leader of the AUR, George Simion, the chairwoman of the Young People's Party (POT), Anamaria Gavrila, and others also spoke from the podium in Victory Square.
"We are here because our vote was stolen, we are here because democracy was trampled, we are here because the one who should have been the president of the Romanians is not in his rightful place," said Georges Simion.
He said that Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is a "dictator" who must leave "through resignation or through the power of the people." Simion accused the prime minister of being "co-author" of the coup d'état of December 6," together with former President Klaus Iohannis, when the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election.
Thousands of people gathered today in Bucharest's University Square to protest the Constitutional Court's decision to annul last year's election, before heading to Victory Square, where the government palace is located.
The demonstrators waved flags and carried placards with slogans against Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and in support of Calin Georgescu, calling for a second round of the 2024 presidential election. They chanted "Down with the government", "Freedom", "Georgescu, president" and blew vuvuzelas.
At the same time, the gendarmerie reported that some demonstrators threw water bottles and plastic crates used to transport pasta at the law enforcement officers. The gendarmerie specified that it did not use force or its available equipment in these incidents.
According to the publication Hotnews, the participants in today's protest - the first after the indictment of Calin Georgescu - were about 10,000 people and some demonstrators clashed with the gendarmerie.
Politicians from Bulgaria, Poland, Italy, and Spain also came to the AUR rally, with some of them giving speeches in support of Georgescu, noted Digi 24 television.