Romania's conservative populist presidential election front-runner Calin Georgescu has been arrested in a shock move by the state, which has left his supporters bewildered and outrage, as they mobilize to protest what appars brazen ongoing political persecution.
The detention and 'questioning' by police and the prosecutor's office is reportedly in relation to last November's canceled vote that he won, after unsubstantiated and vague claims of 'Russian interference' were claimed. Western media has commonly sought to portray him as a 'far-right, pro-Russian' candidate.
"Calin Georgescu was going to file his new candidacy for the Presidency. About 30 minutes ago, the system stopped him in traffic and he was pulled over for questioning at the Prosecutor General’s Office! Where is democracy, where are the partners who must defend democracy?," a post on Georgescu’s Facebook account indicated.
Back in December Romania's Constitutional Court had ruled "to annul the entire electoral process for the election of the President of Romania… to ensure the correctness and legality of the electoral process" - as the controversial and completely unprecedented ruling stated.
The 'problem' was that 62-year old Georgescu, the widely dubbed 'far-right' contender, came out on top in a first round of voting in a 'shock' outcome which left political opponents scrambling and claiming Russian intelligence was behind the massive and sudden rise in his popularity.
After winning the first round on November 24th, he was scheduled to face reformist Elena Lasconi of the liberal Save Romania Union (USR) in the second round. Crucially, Georgescu's huge underdog victory also happened with zero campaign spending, according to his declaration. This was another 'problem' and conundrum for authorities and his political enemies.
zerohedge.com
Tom |
