Diana Șoșoacă submits bid for Romanian presidency despite previous rejection

Controversial far-right politician Diana Șoșoacă, an MEP and president of SOS Romania party, submitted her candidacy for the May presidential elections on Thursday, March 13, at the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) in Bucharest.

This is Șoșoacă's second attempt to enter the presidential race after the Constitutional Court rejected her candidacy in last year’s elections. At that time, the top court criticized the Electoral Bureau for failing to spot irregularities in her documents and her lack of attachment to democratic values.

Now, the MEP arrived at the BEC headquarters in Bucharest wearing boxing gloves, saying she came to “fight the system” and was awaited by dozens of supporters chanting “Diana president," according to HotNews.

Upon exiting, Șoșoacă stated that she wants to participate in the BEC session where her file would be analyzed.

“I submitted a request to be present during the BEC session when my file will be judged. I have the right to defend myself! Even parliamentarians have asked to be present, to defend, not to be erased and accused without being able to build a defense,” she said.

“The system is not ready for people who do not sell out, for those who are educated, who know the law. It is not used to heroes fighting against it,” Șoșoacă told journalists in front of the BEC headquarters. She also criticized the press for “insulting” the Romanian people.

More surprisingly, she attacked the other far-right politician, Calin Georgescu, who was recently rejected by the Romanian Constitutional Court after coming in first in the initial round of the 2024 presidential elections. “Georgescu, may you be cursed forever for the disaster brought upon Romania! Shame on all of them!” Șoșoacă said.

Diana Șoșoacă, who was sanctioned for disturbing a session of the European Parliament and publicly praised communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, expressed optimism regarding her candidacy before submitting her file.

“Legally speaking, after analyzing the entire situation with our lawyers, they no longer have the right to ban me because you cannot ban the same candidate twice for the same reasons. You cannot be judged twice for the same act. Therefore, the Constitutional Court and BEC no longer have the right to cancel my candidacy based on Decision number 2 from October 5, 2024. This is a legal principle that operates internationally - you cannot be judged and condemned twice for the same act,” explained the leader of SOS Romania.