Far-right Romanian politician enters race for mayor of Bucharest

Far-right Romanian senator Diana Șoșoacă has entered the race for mayor of Bucharest after gathering all the necessary signatures for her candidacy.

The Electoral Office accepted her candidacy on the very last day she was eligible to submit it. This came after her application was rejected over the weekend because she did not have enough valid signatures. To remedy that, Șoșoacă brought additional lists of signatures to the District Electoral Office No. 42, according to Digi24.

Diana Șoșoacă will run on behalf of SOS Romania, the party she leads. At the same time, the senator is also the party's top candidate in the European Parliament elections.

Șoșoacă said her candidacy was initially rejected at the order of prime minister and Social Democrat (PSD) leader Marcel Ciolacu. She also claimed that the General Municipality of Bucharest "is the most corrupt institution in Romania."

Last year, a US think tank, the Robert Lansing Institut, published an analysis arguing that nationalist and conservative MP Diana Șoşoacă has links with the Russian military secret services. The analysis linked Șoşoacă with Russia’s GRU after she submitted a draft law that would have annexed part of Ukraine’s territory.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos | Octav Ganea)