Save Romania Union (USR) condemned, on Monday, the violent riots in the streets of Bucharest, stressing, at the same time, that it is the „obligation” of the institutions and pro-European forces to regain the trust of people who are „angry, frustrated, dissatisfied”.

According to USR, decisions to reject candidacies must be „exceptional” and Romania „needs other mechanisms to defend democracy”, which can be used in the usual way.

„The decision made last night’s by BEC [the Central Electoral Bureau] has opened a heated discussion about the correct legal way to put into practice this exceptional step. At the time of the BEC vote, the USR representative, a lawyer by trade, a professional with experience in the Electoral Bureau, considered that only CCR [the Constitutional Court of Romania]has the power to decide on the merits of a candidacy based on previous decisions, the Electoral Bureau having the sole duty to check the documents in the file, namely the form of the candidacy. After the reasons for the decision were released, the USR representative in the BEC took note and respects the judges’ reasoning for invalidation,” reads a USR press release sent to AGERPRES.

According to the cited source, the ruling parties must admit that, through „inaction and too many backstage games, they allowed a pro-Russian and isolationist candidate” to get so far in the electoral process.

„USR strongly condemns the violence yesterday evening in front of the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) and reaffirms, as it has constantly done since December 2024, the need for a pro-Russian candidate, who campaigned beyond the law, to be invalidated. The people’s grievances cannot be ignored and the ruling parties must admit that, through inaction and too many backstage games, they have allowed a pro-Russian and isolationist candidate to get so far in the electoral process,” the party led by Elena Lasconi said.

USR called on the pro-European political forces „to have the wisdom to sit at the same table to make the most appropriate decisions” in the current context. The invalidation of Calin Georgescu’s candidacy „is not only a legal act, but also an alarm signal that our democracy is vulnerable and exposed to infiltration by extremism and isolationism”, the press release states.

„In the last three months, the Romanian state has had the necessary time to find out exactly what mechanisms were used by an isolationist candidate to evade the law and the electoral rules. Based on this data, by now, those responsible should have taken the necessary measures to prevent a similar case from happening again. We must be fully aware that people’s anger, annoyance and frustrations cannot be invalidated either by BEC or CCR. Last year’s elections showed us a clear message from the citizens and we have the responsibility to hear it and do what is right for Romanians, to do our job seriously,” said USR leader Elena Lasconi.

AGERPRES