Georgescu, a critic of NATO who has praised Romania's 1930s fascist leaders, turned to Europe's top human rights court after failing to reverse the decision by Romania's Constitutional Court in local courts. The ECHR ruled that his appeal fell outside its remit.

Europe's top rights court on Tuesday rejected Romanian far-right candidate Calin Georgescu's appeal against the annulment of the country's 2024 presidential election after he won the first round amid claims of Russian interference.

Călin Georgescu, the far-right candidate who emerged as the favourite at the first round of the annulled presidential election in December, is leading in an opinion poll based on him running in the vote rescheduled for May.

The unprecedented cancelation of Romania’s vote drew condemnation from across the political spectrum, including from Georgescu’s ideological foes. His would-be opponent in the now-canceled runoff, reformist candidate Elena Lasconi, said Romania’s democracy was being “trampled” by the state.

Romania will hold a fresh presidential election in May, after the country's court annulled the results of last year's first round of the poll, in which a little-known candidate won after campaigning heavily on TikTok.

Călin Georgescu, an independent far-right candidate with pro-Russian sympathies, surprisingly won the first round of the presidential election on 24 November. In response, Romania's Constitutional Court decided to annul the first round of the presidential election and order a full rerun, preventing the run-off from taking place.