00:00Romania's Central Electoral Committee has suspended the application by ultra-nationalist
00:07presidential candidate Călin Georgescu to run in the upcoming elections on Sunday.
00:12The suspension sparked condemnation and triggered protests in the capital, Bucharest.
00:17Georgescu's supporters clashed with police in front of the committee's headquarters.
00:21One gendarme was injured in the scuffles.
00:24The committee examined documents filed by Georgescu, but did not approve one related
00:28to his campaign funding, noting that it was missing a required signature.
00:32The far-right candidate slammed the decision, calling it a direct blow to the heart of democracy,
00:37before labeling Europe a dictatorship.
00:39He also warned that if democracy falls in Romania, the entire democratic world will
00:44also suffer a similar fate.
00:46The committee defended its decision in a three-page document and accused Georgescu of not displaying
00:51values the presidential office requires.
00:54Georgescu, dubbed the TikTok messiah, came out on top in the first round of Romania's
00:58presidential elections in December.
01:01The constitutional court annulled the vote following the declassifications of intelligence
01:05reports showing Russian meddling in influencing voters.
01:09Georgescu now has the right to appeal the decision or file a new application, according
01:13to Romanian law.
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