BUCHAREST—On a recent day, nationalist politician Călin Georgescu made his way through a crush of people to enter a district court in Romania’s faded belle epoque capital to argue that he should be free to run in coming presidential elections.

Calin Georgescu, the far-right frontrunner in Romania’s presidential vote, has been barred from running in May’s election, in an explosive decision that sparked violence on the streets of Bucharest and came despite pressure from Washington to “listen” to voters’ demands.

Controversial Romanian politician Diana Sosoaca, who was barred by a top court from entering last year’s annulled presidential election, has filed her candidacy in an unlikely bid to enter in the May rerun.

The country’s electoral commission ruled on Sunday that Calin Georgescu, an outspoken critic of Ukraine and NATO, could not compete in the do-over election.

A top Romanian court has rejected an appeal by far-right politician Calin Georgescu to lift a ban on his candidacy in the presidential rerun

Romanian far-right politician Calin Georgescu on Tuesday stopped short of endorsing any other potential candidate after being definitively barred from standing in May's presidential election rerun, adding to uncertainty over who would replace him.

Romania’s largest far-right party is scrambling to find a candidate after the independent front-runner it supported was barred from May’s presidential election.

The Romanian constitutional court on Tuesday upheld a ban preventing the far-right candidate Călin Georgescu from participating in the country’s presidential election. The ruling, which is final, backed a decision by Romania’s electoral authority on Sunday to throw out Georgescu’s bid to run in May’s vote after he allegedly breached election rules.