Campaign Materials for Călin Georgescu Distributed Nationwide

Georgescu claims he had zero funds for the electoral campaign.

By Romania Journal Last updated Nov 29, 2024

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Campaign materials bearing the logo of independent presidential candidate Călin Georgescu have been printed, despite the fact that he has stated that he did not spend a single leu during the first-round campaign. Digi24.ro received photos by email of a package allegedly sent to a monastery containing dozens of leaflets, calendars and newspapers featuring Călin Georgescu’s picture, his position on the first-round ballot and the name of the “Food, Water, Energy” program.

According to Digi24.ro, the package containing dozens of leaflets was allegedly distributed by a supporter in Bucharest to a monastery.

The campaign materials received on the Digi24.ro email address contain visual elements identical to those used in the online environment by Călin Georgescu for electoral promotion.

The same supporter who allegedly distributed the posters posted on TikTok, in mid-November, before the first round of the presidential elections, a clip in which he films a banner containing the insignia of candidate Călin Georgescu, pasted on a building in Floreasca Square in the capital.

Călin Georgescu reported to the Permanent Electoral Authority that he did not spend a single leu during the campaign for the first round of the presidential elections. The organization that monitors the electoral process – Expert Forum – filed a complaint with the AEP earlier this week.

The AEP announced on Thursday that it had also contacted the “competent bodies” after receiving reports of campaign materials without the Financial Mandate Code – a unique code for candidates that helps identify campaign materials for which money was spent. The AEP was notified in the case of several candidates. At the same time, the AEP announced this week that it was verifying the financial report submitted by Călin Georgescu.

Moreover, Călin Georgescu was able to say that he had a campaign without money, because AEP did not publish candidates’ expenses weekly, as required by law, and only did so on Tuesday, after the elections.

“Călin Georgescu’s claim that he spent “zero lei” was only possible because the Permanent Electoral Authority, led by Toni Greblă, blocked the press and public’s access to information.

Cristian Andrei is the journalist who has been writing for many years about how parties spend their campaign money. He shows today, in an analysis published in HotNews, how the complicity within the state and the parties has shown.

During the electoral campaign, AEP is obliged to post candidates’ costs on its website, weekly. It did so at the beginning of the campaign, and the investigative website Snoop inquired about Marcel Ciolacu’s expenses.

Since then, the institution led by Toni Greblă has not published anything. It did so only two days after the elections, on Tuesday. Then we could see that Călin Georgescu had zero left, a lead that goes on to PSD and PNL.

“Mr. Georgescu is strictly supported by the Romanian people through people who have made any type of material or post online on their own responsibility,” explains Călin Georgescu’s team for the lack of “a single penny” spent on the campaign.

After the first two weeks, in which we could see the expenses made by Marcel Ciolacu, AEP did not publish anything. For two weeks it blocked information about the candidates’ expenses. It published them on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, after the polls closed. That’s how we officially found out that we have a candidate with zero expenses. Even after the courts ruled that Pro România bought campaign jackets worth over a million euros, AEP did nothing. Everything was covered up and paid for with public money.

The Central Electoral Bureau decided that candidate Călin Georgescu’s promotional videos must be removed from the internet on Thursday, November 21. Three days before the election, even though they had been running for weeks, which means the move had no effect whatsoever.

The Permanent Electoral Authority, an institution led by Toni Greblă, a controversial figure more concerned with dubious purchases, reacted late and inefficiently. Only after the first round did it notify the Prosecutor’s Office to verify whether Călin Georgescu had violated the law. According to several concordant sources from the PNL and PSD, Călin Georgescu also benefited from the support of the classic parties. In their strategic game, the independent candidate’s messages were also multiplied by the networks of the two parties. Why? Both hoped that Georgescu would cut into George Simion’s votes,” says the Hotnews analysis.

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