She has been accused of spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda and anti-Semitic views. Known for opposing anti-Covid measures during the pandemic, she was expelled from the chamber of the European Parliament in Strasbourg in July 2024 after loudly interrupting debates. Her small party, SOS Romania, won 24 seats after securing some 7% of votes in December legislative elections.

The electoral office did, meanwhile, validate the candidacy of Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party leader George Simion, the most prominent figure on the far right following Georgescu’s exclusion. According to AUR, banning Sosoaca’s candidacy “represents a further blow to Romanian democracy and a serious violation of fundamental rights and freedoms.”

The eastern European state has been plunged into chaos since Georgescu’s surprise emergence in November on the back of a huge TikTok social media campaign which was marred by suspicions of Russian interference. In a highly rare outcome, the November election was immediately cancelled while Georgescu was definitively excluded this week from the election, whose first round is scheduled for May 4.