George Simion, Ana Maria Gavrila join the presidential race

The AUR leader will be the candidate of the far-right forces in the presidential elections, instead of Călin Georgescu. The backup option, in case Simion is not accepted by the Constitutional Court, will be Anamaria Gavrilă, the leader of the POT.

If both candidacies are validated, one of them will withdraw, the two said. “The framework in which we are sending this message is not a constitutional and democratic one. We must return to normality and to the second round. After we, the presidents of the two sovereignist parties, together with Mr. Călin Georgescu, have met, we can tell you what the plan is. All the pressure is on returning to the second round. We, as young people, will continue this sovereignist movement with the approval of Mr. Călin Georgescu and we will take the necessary steps further,” said George Simion.

“So, both George Simion and I, Anamaria Gavrilă, will submit our candidacies. We need you to be with us. As a result of the final validation of these candidacies, one of us will withdraw. We must give this sovereignist movement every chance. Be with us, without you, we cannot. We only represent what you are and live,” said the POT president in her turn.

The deadline for submitting candidacies is March 15. By then, each of them must collect 200,000 signatures. “Time is very short,” warned Simion.

“This time, everyone’s involvement in collecting signatures will be needed. We are together, there is no other solution. We are going all the way as we promised to you, to the Romanian people,” he continued. “The second round is back for Mr. Călin Georgescu, the president-elect. We are moving forward with the sovereignist movement to give it every chance,” said Gavrilă.

Georgescu’s consultant, in as well

On the other hand, Călin Georgescu’s consultant, Anton Pisaroglu, who also worked with Viorica Dăncilă, George Simion and Nicuşor Dan, also announced his candidacy in the presidential elections, after Călin Georgescu’s candidacy was rejected. Pisaroglu claims that he is not Georgescu’s reserve, because “he is irreplaceable”.

“The only solution to get out of the chaos they have thrown us into is for me to run for the Presidency of Romania. With a single goal: to resume free emergency elections. To use all the levers once I get there to urgently trigger free elections. And no, I am not Călin Georgescu’s reserve. He is irreplaceable. I am the solution to the current situation we find ourselves in,” Anton Pisaroglu said in a message on TikTok.

“It is about regaining trust in democracy, but, very importantly, it is also about repairing Romania’s image internationally. Today, the entire world sees us as a defective country (…) I am running to trigger free elections again, but this time under real international supervision, with involved observers and with the support of strategic partners. I will personally ensure this,” Pisaroglu added.

He also explained who he is, sharing photos in which he appears alongside various leaders: “My name is Anton. I am an international political strategist. I have represented Romania at the highest level. I have been to the table of world leaders, where our current leaders are begging to enter”.

He specified that he coordinated Viorica Dancila’s campaign, worked with George Simeon “to strengthen AUR in the European Parliament”, was with Nicuşor Dan’s team “in securing the historic victory in the Capital”.

“Then, in 2021, during the first 8 months of Călin Georgescu in Romania, I was with him. I helped him lay the foundations of today’s powerful movement. I do not agree with all of Mr. Georgescu’s political views, but it is absolutely normal for two people to be able to collaborate, even if they have different opinions. In the end, I am totally apolitical, but a connoisseur. I perfectly understand the dynamics of the moment. I understand what needs to be done. The only solution is to rerun the election. With the Romanian people in the foreground, with strategic partners at the table. With true freedom of choice”, Anton Pisaroglu also declared.

“They will attack me for sure, they will say that I am a man of Russia and not the truth, that I am a great friend of the Trump administration. They will not say anything about my career in professional rugby, that I have always represented my country with dignity, that it was an honor to play under our flag, that I proudly raised my hand to my chest listening to the anthem on the field. They will not say that I helped build a church in Sardinia, that I love Orthodoxy and live in the service of God”, he added. He specifies that he has already collected over 100,000 signatures for the candidacy.

Călin Georgescu cannot run in the May presidential elections, after the Constitutional Court of Romania rejected on Tuesday the appeals regarding the decision of the Central Electoral Bureau to invalidate his candidacy, the institution announced.

Georgescu had been backed up by AUR and POT.

Sosoaca slams Simion, Gavrila

“You were led astray by the so-called sovereignists,” reacted MEP Diana Șoșoacă, also a presidential candidate, after George Simion and Anamaria Gavrilă both announced that they would run in the elections following the invalidation of Călin Georgescu.

She asks the two how they collected signatures if they only announced their intention on March 12, and the deadline for submitting lists with 200,000 signatures is March 15.

Remus Pricopie, SNSPA rector: “Collecting 200,000 signatures in 3 days unrealistic”

The deadline for submitting candidacies to the BEC is March 15, and the rector of the SNSPA, Remus Pricopie, believes that it is “absolutely unrealistic that new potential candidates” will manage to collect the necessary 200,000 signatures.

“Given that the deadline for submitting candidacies expires on March 15, 2025, at 00:00, it is obvious that it is absolutely unrealistic that new potential candidates, supported by parties or independents, will manage to legally obtain 200,000 signatures. Presidential elections, according to the good practices recommended by the European Court of Human Rights and the Venice Commission, must be held on the basis of clear rules, judicious criteria and transparent verification mechanisms, including with regard to the financing of electoral campaigns,” Remus Pricopie writes on his Facebook page.