Romania’s central election authority on Sunday barred far-right pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu from running in May’s presidential election re-run.

The members of the group wanted to pull Romania out of NATO and planned to change country’s name, flag and anthem, according to the agency. Radu Theodoru, the 101-year-old general, who held a prominent position in the far-right Great Romania Party, is known for praising Romania’s fascist movement and having antisemitic views.

Romania's central election authority on Sunday barred far-right pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu from running in May's presidential election re-run. The rejection of his candidacy, which was condemned by far-right party leaders as undemocratic,

Romanian far-right populist Calin Georgescu has been barred from participating in May's presidential election rerun by the country's Central Electoral Bureau. In December, Romania's constitutional court annulled the first round of the vote - in which he came first - after intelligence revealed Russia had been involved in 800 TikTok accounts backing him.

Romania has banned the far-right frontrunner in the country’s presidential vote from taking part in the election, in a move that comes despite warnings from the US to respect voters’ wishes. The country’s electoral bureau said on Sunday it was invalidating Călin Georgescu’s candidacy after receiving objections that he had violated laws against extremism.

Romania banned far-right front-runner Calin Georgescu from taking part in May presidential election in a move that deepens the country’s political turmoil and risks provoking the wrath of Trump administration.