Romania’s electoral body has rejected Calin Georgescu’s candidacy in the presidential election redo, after the far-right populist won the first round of last year’s race before a top court annulled the election.

The Romanian Central Election Bureau has officially barred far-right and pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu from participating in the country’s presidential election scheduled for May. The decision is expected to further escalate Romania’s ongoing political crisis,

Romania’s central election authority has banned far-right pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu from running in the country’s May presidential election re-run, triggering protests from Georgescu’s supporters.