Romania on Sunday barred far-right frontrunner Călin Georgescu from running in May’s presidential election.
According to Bloomberg, the Bucharest-based electoral bureau invalidated Georgescu’s candidacy after receiving more than 1,000 challenges, mostly related to his anti-democratic and extremist stances.
However, the decision can still be appealed at the Constitutional Court.
This latest move could further deepen Romania’s political turmoil and may also lead to protests in the country.
In February, Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis announced his resignation amid mounting pressure to step down ahead of a re-run of the country’s presidential election, which was controversially annulled last year.
The December vote was voided by Romania’s top court following allegations of Russian state interference.