Calin Georgescu, a populist and leading candidate in Romania’s postponed May presidential election, has been barred from running by the central election authority.

“Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is under tyranny!” Georgescu exclaimed on X, adding, “I have one message left! If democracy in Romania falls, the entire democratic world will fall!”

The Trump administration has been monitoring Romania’s presidential election since its initial cancellation in May due to allegations of Russian collusion benefiting Georgescu.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, also commented on the decision, writing on X, “This is crazy.”

Kari Lake, a former Trump administration advisor, drew parallels, stating on X, “Do you love your country & want to put it first? Then, the Globalists want you removed from the ballot & silenced. They tried it with Trump here in America. They did it to Bolsanaro in Brazil. Now, they’re doing it to Georgescu in Romania. The people should dictate their country’s future. Not the international order & their captured court.”

Georgescu, who previously won the first round of Romania’s canceled presidential election last year, was questioned by top prosecutors in February.

Romania’s Constitutional Court controversially annulled the election two days before the scheduled Dec. 8 runoff, following Georgescu’s first-round victory. Despite polling in the single digits and reporting zero campaign spending, allegations of Russian interference and electoral violations surfaced, according to The Associated Press. Subsequently, prosecutors launched an investigation into alleged campaign funding fraud, antisemitism, and hate speech.

The Trump administration previously criticized Romania’s decision to cancel the election, alleging that the court’s ruling was based on “flimsy suspicions” and “enormous pressure” from neighboring countries.

Vance stated in December, “Romania straight up canceled the results of a presidential election based on the flimsy suspicions of an intelligence agency and enormous pressure from its continental neighbors.”

He also cautioned European leaders against “censoring your opponents or putting them in jail” or “disregarding your basic electorate on questions like who gets to be a part of our shared society” as a means of securing a “democratic mandate.”

“To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old, entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation, who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion or, God forbid, vote a different way, or even worse, win an election,” Vance added.

Georgescu, a known critic of NATO and Western support for Ukraine, has previously drawn criticism for describing Romanian fascist and nationalist leaders from the 1930s and 1940s as national heroes, according to The AP.

He has also lauded in the past as “a man who loves his country” and referred to Ukraine as “an invented state.”

Digital’s Danielle Wallace, Reuters and