Controversial Romanian MEP Diana Soshoaca was barred from running in Romania's presidential election at the end of the year following a ruling by the Constitutional Court, BTA reports.
The court's reasoning, published late last night, states that Soshoaca's candidacy registration violates certain eligibility conditions related to the "values of democracy, the rule of law and respect for the Constitution." The court notes that candidate Soshoaca questions Romania's membership in the EU and NATO, Romanian media reported.
The right to be elected is not an absolute right and may be subject to certain restrictions that stem from the democratic vision of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court reasoned. It would be unacceptable and contrary to the essence of the democratic process for a candidate not to meet these conditions from the outset to nevertheless participate in the elections and, if they win, to take an official oath of allegiance, the court noted.
It is a well-known fact that the constant discourse of Ms. Diana Jovanovic Soshoaca is an incitement to change the democratic foundations of the state and violate the constitutional order, the decision quoted by Digi 24 also states.
„Russia's favorite Romanian politician“. Who is Diana Sosioaca?
Diana Jovanović Sosioaca was born on November 13, 1975 in Bucharest. She is a lawyer by profession. She became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic with messages on Facebook against restrictive measures. The party from whose lists Sosioaca entered the Romanian Parliament for the first time in 2020 - Alliance for the Unification of Romanians (AUR), organized dozens of rallies against anti-epidemic measures, vaccination and wearing protective masks.
In 2021, Diana Sosioaca was expelled from the AUR parliamentary group for not following the party's strategy and remained in parliament as an independent.
In December 2021 Soshoaca gained notoriety outside Romania, especially in Italy, after the Italian television channel Rai 1 accused her of kidnapping journalist Lucia Goracci during an interview on the coronavirus pandemic. The journalist's case is full of contradictory statements from those involved, but it is a fact that the Italian woman was arrested on charges of theft and assault made by Soshoaca. The reporter was eventually released after the intervention of the Italian embassy in Romania.
In the Romanian media, Soshoaca is often criticized for her ties to Russia. According to the Russian media outlet “Sputnik“ Diana Soshoaca is the “politician of 2021” in Romania“.
In March 2022, at the height of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Soshoaca and three other MPs met with the Russian ambassador to Bucharest, Valeriy Kuzmin, to discuss "Romania's neutrality position" in the military conflict. The group of Romanian MPs did not have approval from the parliament's leadership for such an initiative, Romanian media noted at the time. Soshoaca is a frequent guest at the Russian embassy in Bucharest.
In March 2023 Șoșoaca submitted to parliament a bill that would denounce the Treaty on Good Neighborhood and Cooperation between Romania and Ukraine, ratified by law in 1997, and annex territories in Ukraine that belonged to Romania in the period between the two world wars.
After being expelled from the AUR, Șoșoaca joined the new nationalist party SOS Romania, and later became its leader. In the European Parliament elections in June this year, she was elected as an MEP.
„Typhoon“ Shoshoaka storms the European Parliament
The far-right MEP was ejected from the plenary chamber of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on July 18 after making offensive noises during a debate following a speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“This is the third time you have done this. Please remove the MEP from the chamber,“ ordered European Parliament President Roberta Mezzola after repeatedly disrupting the order in the chamber. Earlier, during von der Leyen's speech, Shoshoaka drew attention to herself by waving a muzzle and placing it in front of her mouth – something she has done several times in the Romanian Parliament.
Today, Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureșan announced on Facebook that EP President Roberta Metzola had punished Șoșoaca for her appearance in July by suspending her from participating in the plenary session of the European Parliament for a period of seven days and consequently depriving her of the MEP's remuneration for that period.
Contests against the candidacy
Two contestations have been filed against Soshoaca's candidacy for president of Romania, Digi 24 reports. In one, Amalia Bellantoni, who is a former party member of Soshoaca, expresses doubt about the validity of the signatures collected in support of the candidacy, and also criticizes statements by the Romanian MEP made at the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, according to which “Romania is not a state governed by law“ and “a dictatorship has been established in Romania“. Amalia Bellantoni also pointed out in her contestation that Diana Soshoaca had made threats to national security, suggesting that she could provide information of a nature that could destabilize NATO and the EU.
The submitter of the contestation also points out that Soshoaca contributes to the spread of Russian propaganda in Romania, insists that the country take a position of neutrality and annexes Ukrainian territories. Amalia Bellantoni also draws attention to the aggressive behavior of Soshoaca, who allows herself to make death threats to people she talks to.
In the second challenge against Soshoaca's candidacy, the submitter Mihai Gheorghe Ursa also gives examples of the candidate's “anti-democratic“ behavior, noting her “friendship“ with Russia, as well as her anti-Semitic attitude and support for the legionary movement in Romania between the two world wars, Digi 24 points out.
Soshoaca's reaction
“The Constitutional Court's decision is a complete usurpation of justice and murder of the Romanian nation. Typhoon Diana Soshoca cannot be stopped except through lawlessness,” the Romanian MEP wrote on her official Facebook account after the Constitutional Court announced on Saturday (October 5) that it was rejecting her candidacy for president.
Following the court’s decision, the chairwoman of "SOS Romania" went live on the YouTube channel of her party colleague, promoting the "Legionaire Movement" - a Romanian far-right and fascist organization from the interwar period. Digi 24 points out that Soshoca paid tribute to the leader of the "Legionaire Movement" Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and made anti-Semitic appeals.
"From this moment on, Romania is over, there is no more state, there is nothing. I can't say anything else but: Long live the Legion and the Captain (this is what Corneliu Zelea Codreanu was called - ed.), who were killed by the same Jewish power that is still in effect today. Shame on everyone", are some of the words of Sosioaca during her almost six-hour live broadcast.
"It is not normal for you, Israel, and you, the Jews, to come and impose the history of the Jews. What, are we not Jews that we should learn your history? Go home, to Israel, this is not your country", Sosioaca also said.
Romanian legislation prohibits propaganda in favor of persons guilty of genocide or war crimes, as well as fascist, legionary or xenophobic ideas, concepts and doctrines. Such actions are punishable by imprisonment of three months to three years and the deprivation of certain rights, Romanian media remind.
Digi 24 notes that some of Soshoaca's supporters wore rings with a Nazi swastika when she filed her candidacy for the presidential elections on October 3.
The Prosecutor General's Office initiated proceedings yesterday in connection with Soshoaca's anti-Semitic statements and the expressed support for former legionnaire leader Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, Romanian media also reported.
Diana Soshoaca also described the Constitutional Court's decision as “Nazi“ and “Stalinist“ and commented that the judges had turned her into a “national hero-martyr“, informed Digi 24. The MEP also complained last night in the European Parliament, stating that they had canceled her candidacy for president of Romania because she had fought against “muzzles“ during the pandemic. Soshoaca told the MEPs that her candidacy for president was canceled given that “real opinion polls put her in first place“.
According to the opinion polls for the presidential elections in Romania, published so far, Soshoaca is ranked in fifth place in most cases.
Where will the votes for Soshoaca go?
However, one key question remains: which candidate will the votes for the leader of SOS Romania go to. Its electorate numbers at least 500,000 people, which was confirmed in the European elections in June, notes Digi 24.
According to Romanian analysts, the votes for Soshoaca could go to the leader of the other popular nationalist party, the Alliance for the Unification of Romanians, Gheorghe Simion, and lead him to a second round on December 8 (the first round of the presidential election is on November 24).
This scenario makes Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu the favorite for the presidency, as the possible qualification of the nationalist Simion in the second round would lead to a repeat of the 2000 presidential final between Ion Iliescu and another nationalist - Vadim Tudor, leader of the "Greater Romania" party, which was won by Iliescu at the time, notes Digi 24 in an analysis.