Tens of thousands protest in Bucharest, demanding PM Ciolacu’s resignation

Tens of thousands of people gathered in the center of the Romanian capital to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. The protest was attended by former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu, who is facing multiple criminal cases initiated by the prosecutor’s office.

Georgescu called for the right to participate in the upcoming presidential election scheduled for May. In the first round of the presidential election held in late November last year, Georgescu secured first place. However, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results at the request of security services, citing concerns that the candidate may have received illegal support from Russia.

According to Radio Free Europe’s Romanian service, approximately 30,000 people participated in the rally. The protest was organized by the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), which secured 9% of the vote in the parliamentary elections on December 1, 2024. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ciolacu’s Social Democratic Party (PSD) won the elections with 22% of the vote.