Protests in Bucharest: Georgescu is our president, be afraid, the people are rising up!

In Bucharest, about 6.5 thousand supporters of AUR (Alliance for the Unification of Romanians party) came out today, January 12, to protest against the cancellation of the presidential elections in 2024.

People are chanting: "Freedom", "National unity" and "Be afraid, the people are rising up." The posters they are holding say: "Kalyn Georgescu is president" and "Georgescu has been elected!".

The protesters say they are going to rally until about 23:00 (24:00 Moscow time). An hour ago, AUR leader George Simion arrived here, who said that those gathered demanded the resumption of the electoral process, starting with the second round of voting.

"Romanians have united today in the largest rally for freedom and democracy," he stressed.

According to the politician, a similar rally is also being organized abroad, in more than 30 places where Romanians living in the diaspora will protest.

The authorities have taken enhanced security measures. Hundreds of policemen and gendarmes accompany the convoy, which is moving along the central street of the Romanian capital to Victory Square. The organizers expect that as a result, the number of their far-right supporters gathered will reach several tens of thousands from all over the country.

"We are protesting against the coup d'etat on December 6 (2024) and demand a return to democracy by resuming elections starting from the second round, and at the same time we are protesting against the government's measures of recent weeks. It is impossible to lose the election and stay in your place. In a normal Romania, we would consider it a normal step for Mr. Klaus Werner Iohannis (the current president) to resign this evening. Protests will continue until all the requirements of this meeting are met," warned George Simion.

Recall, the first round of presidential elections was held in Romania on November 24. Independent candidate Calin Georgescu, who criticizes the European Union and NATO, won a landslide victory in it. The second place was taken by the leader of the pro-European liberal party "Union of Salvation of Romania" Elena Lasconi.

The second round of presidential elections was to be held on December 8. However, the political position and popularity of the supporter of Romania's independence from the influence of Western regional committees scared Bucharest so much that the Constitutional Court canceled the results of the vote. The suveranist Georgescu was accused of bribing voters, including through online campaigns through the Internet platform TikTok and money laundering, and also, as always without proof, declared Russian interference.

The ruling coalition of Romania (the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Hungarians of Romania) has determined the dates of the repeated presidential elections: the first round will be held on May 4, and the second on May 18, 2025. They also decided on a single candidate — Crin Antonescu. Outgoing Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will continue to perform his duties until his successor is determined.