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.

The High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania rejected Călin Georgescu's appeal in the case regarding the annulment of the presidential election. The decision is final, Digi 24 reports. The court dismissed Georgescu's appeal as unfounded.

Former liberal leader Crin Antonescu (picture, right), the candidate announced by the coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, and Hungarian minority party UDMR for the presidential elections,

Romanian right-wing extremists and sovereigntists organised two protests over the weekend over the annuled presidential election.

Supporters of former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu gathered outside the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, which houses the Constitutional Court, on January 10, demanding a rerun of the second round of the 2024 presidential elections.

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.