Anamaria Gavrila withdraws from the race for Cotroceni

The Constitutional Court is ruling today on the last challenges to the presidential candidacies of Anamaria Gavrilă and George Simion. Political sources told Digi24 that Anamaria Gavrilă is considering withdrawing in favor of George Simion, but that she will first have a discussion with Călin Georgescu, whose candidacy has already been rejected. Today is the last day a candidate can withdraw from the race, and their name will no longer appear on the ballot. Once all candidacies have been validated and the ballots sent to print, candidates can still withdraw, but their names will remain on the ballot, as in the case of Ludovic Orban, who withdrew in favor of Elena Lasconi.

Anamaria Gavrilă called police over journalists, but got fined herself

POT leader Anamaria Gavrilă has been involved in a incident today, after she had called the police claiming that she felt assaulted by journalists in Parliament. The press was waiting for a response from Gavrilă regarding her possible withdrawal from the presidential race, and the journalists had every right to be in that area. The police came, found that the complaint was unfounded, and sanctioned Gavrilă with a warning.

There was no altercation between the journalists and the head of the POT.

According to a police statement, “on March 19, 2025, the Capital Police was notified by a woman, as a deputy, regarding the fact that there were verbal disagreements between her and several media representatives. Police officers from Section 17 went to the scene, who found that the media representatives were exercising their duties, in the area of ​​a hallway within the Palace of Parliament.”

“Thus, it was established that the media representatives did not violate the legal provisions, the respective area allowing their access to carry out their activities. Following the checks, the caller was sanctioned as a contravention, with a warning, according to the provisions of OG 34/2008,” the police statement also states.

Over time, Ana Maria Gavrilă has preferred to run away from the press several times, instead of answering the questions asked, but later to transmit on social networks that she is being assaulted by journalists.

The right to free information is stipulated by law, and the Parliament’s regulations provide for areas where journalists can stand to take statements from parliamentarians, including in front of parliamentary groups, Ciprian Șerban, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, said after Anamaria Gavrilă, dissatisfied with the presence of the press in front of the POT parliamentary group, called the Police, who came and sanctioned her with a warning.

“The spaces in front of the parliamentary groups, according to the Accreditation Regulations, are areas open to the media. Given the political context, but also the candidacy for the position of President of Romania of Mrs. Anamaria Gavrila, the President of the POT, the interest of the press in obtaining a statement is justified,” the President of the Chamber of Deputies said in a press release.