Young people stage protest against independent presidential candidate Călin Georgescu in Bucharest

Hundreds of young people gathered on the afternoon of Monday, November 25, one day after the first round of the presidential elections, in Bucharest’s Piața Universității at a protest against the first-placed candidate, independent Călin Georgescu.

The protest began spontaneously through messages on WhatsApp, according to media reports. “A legionary dictatorship threatens Romania,” the call to protest read.

Once in the central square, a symbolic given the massive student protests in favor of true democratization that took place there in the 1990s, the protesters began chanting slogans against Georgescu.

Călin Georgescu's controversial stances include questioning Romania's NATO membership and praising both Russian president Vladimir Putin and Romania's pro-Nazi dictator Ion Antonescu. When questioned in a Digi24 interview about his position on the war in Ukraine, Georgescu said Ukraine shouldn’t be a concern and that the president’s job is to take care of Romania.

“Students from all cities, join us to show that a Putin supporter cannot defeat us,” said one protester.

Two older men joined the young demonstrators and told them they supported them. Both said they are now retired, and one of them was a former political prisoner.

“We worry when we see fewer and fewer young people around us. My daughter has also left. That’s why you need to say: No, Mr. or Comrade Georgescu! Go back to Moscow, to Putin! Don’t come here,” the man said to the crowd, receiving applause, according to HotNews.ro.

A few incidents took place during the evening. At one point, a counter-protester appeared among the crowd and began arguing with the young people but police quickly escorted him away to de-escalate the situation.

More than three and a half hours after the demonstration began, the protesters indicated that they would continue the protests in the following days: “Here again tomorrow evening, so we won’t have to leave the country.” The protesters are also calling on political parties to unite “against this common evil named Călin Georgescu.”

Despite the protest, young people in Romania are not of the same mind when it comes to the surprise candidate. Remus Stefureac, head of the INSCOP survey house, recently