Romanian Ruling Coalition Teeters on the Brink Ahead of Election

(Bloomberg) -- Romania’s ruling coalition came close to a collapse less than two months before a series of elections as a junior party moved to protest a controversial top court decision to remove a far-right candidate from the presidential race.

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Liberal Party leader Nicolae Ciuca said late on Monday his party will stay in the government but the coalition with their former rivals, the Social Democrats, “stops here.”

A decision by the constitutional court to remove a far-right candidate from the presidential ballot was likely meant to “eliminate an adversary,” Ciuca said, alleging that the court is stacked with a majority of judges appointed by Social Democrats.

“The consequences of this decision put a big question mark over democracy in Romania,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

The move to end the power-sharing agreement set up in 2021 is likely to throw Romania into a political turmoil and comes as a surprise as the two political rivals had previously said they wanted to continue ruling together after this year’s presidential elections on Nov. 24 and general elections on Dec. 1.

The country is already facing one of the highest budget deficits among European Union member states, in part because of increased spending ahead of the votes.

In a separate social media post, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who leads the Social Democratic Party, refrained from a direct response to the Liberals’ move and called for a “serious discussion” over the need to reform the constitutional court to ensure proper checks and balances.

Both Ciuca and Ciolacu are running for president.

The court said late on Monday it rejected the candidacy of a populist politician, Diana Sosoaca, on grounds that she breached eligibility conditions related to democratic values and the rule of law. The ruling was criticized by some politicians and legal scholars, who argued the court overstepped its mandate.

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