Chaos in Romania. Winner of canceled elections arrested

Calin Georgescu - the winner of the first round of presidential elections in Romania annulled by the constitutional court - has been detained. According to local media, the controversial politician will be brought in for questioning "as part of a broader investigation related to the elections."

According to Romanian media, Calin Georgescu was detained just as he was about to register his candidacy in the repeat elections scheduled for May 4.

Calin Georgescu is under investigation by the General Prosecutor's Office, where he is accused of participating in a fascist organization and promoting controversial ideologies and historical figures in the public sphere, such as Marshal Antonescu. The operation took place on the same day that the General Prosecutor's Office carried out dozens of searches in the group of mercenary Horatsiu Potra, head of Georgescu's security team.

SEE: Surprise after the elections in Romania. Defeat of the far right

Earlier on Wednesday, investigators said they had conducted 47 searches of individuals and associations linked to the controversial politician as part of a broader criminal investigation into several suspicions, including campaign finance fraud and actions against the constitutional order . Georgescu is not currently considered a suspect .

During the searches, the services found weapons, live ammunition and more than a million dollars hidden in a safe. The BGNES news agency recalls in a dispatch that Georgescu was the surprise winner of the first round of the presidential elections, but the Romanian Constitutional Court invalidated the results after declassified intelligence documents from the current president's office indicated irregularities during the election, including " aggressive Russian hybrid actions and cyberattacks ".

SEE: Chaos in Romania. The president announced his resignation

The papers also featured descriptions of Georgescu's mass promotion on social media in the run-up to the vote. The presidential candidate himself denies any ties to Moscow. The decision to invalidate it was made two days before the second round of voting, scheduled for December 8. Georgescu initially had low support in polls and declared zero campaign spending.

In mid-February , the current president of Romania announced his resignation . Explaining his decision, Klaus Iohannis indicated that this step was to prevent a political crisis in the country. His duties - in accordance with the constitution - were taken over by the chairman of the Senate, Ilie Bolojan from the National Liberal Party.