Romanian far-right populist Calin Georgescu has been barred from participating in May’s presidential election rerun by the country’s Central Electoral Bureau.

In December, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the first round of the vote – in which he came first – after intelligence revealed Russia had been involved in 800 TikTok accounts backing him.

The bureau rejected his candidacy for what it called “procedural issues”, without providing further details. Georgescu called the decision a “direct blow” to democracy.

He now has 24 hours from Sunday’s verdict to submit an official appeal, which should issue a ruling within 72 hours.