Călin Georgescu denies campaigning during market speech to 2,000 supporters in Oradea

Appearance at Oradea flea market

Former Romanian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu addressed a crowd on Sunday, 13 September 2026, at the Piața 100 flea market in Oradea. Georgescu arrived around 08:30 in a Jaguar vehicle flanked by bodyguards, following an advance announcement of his visit on 7 September. Hundreds of people initially gathered at the market gates before attendance swelled to approximately 2,000, according to local news outlet eBihoreanul. Supporters greeted him with bread and salt, tricolor flags, and chants, creating an immediate crush of people near the entrance. The crowd included members of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians traveling from Bihor, Maramureș, Satu Mare, and Arad counties, alongside participants from Iași. Some participants also shouted slogans directed at regional political figures, chanting that Romania does not belong to local leaders.

Rejection of electoral campaign claims

Speaking from an improvised stage during an appearance lasting approximately one hour, Georgescu rejected characterizations of his public stops as an election campaign. The stop in Oradea forms part of a nationwide tour across multiple counties, which previously included a visit to Vaslui on 5 September. Georgescu, who is indicted on charges of actions against the constitutional order, framed his public presence in spiritual and populist terms rather than conventional party politics. He directly addressed the crowd regarding his political intentions.

I am told that I am in an electoral campaign. This is false. I have been and am in a work in which I did not ask for power, but I reminded you that it has always been yours. You are the people. You are the power.

Economic assertions and local producers

Georgescu explained that he chose the market specifically to draw attention to small-scale domestic agricultural and artisanal producers standing alongside the car bazaar. He urged supporters to purchase goods directly from local vendors, praising farmers, beekeepers, and food producers for maintaining the economy. During the address, Georgescu also presented several unverified economic claims without citing official statistical sources. He asserted that domestic production is restricted, that young citizens are emigrating, and that Romania has become an outlet market borrowing one billion each week while losing more than 15,000 businesses on a monthly basis.

Production is suffocated. Over 15,000 Romanian firms disappear every month. Young people are leaving. Romania is reduced to a sales market. The voice of the people matters. Democracy matters. Participatory democracy is in your hands. Freedom of expression matters and no human decision can cancel them.

Religious appeals and nationalist rhetoric

Throughout the address, Georgescu incorporated religious symbolism, holding an icon alongside a bouquet of basil tied with a tricolor ribbon. He asserted that Romania holds sufficient resources but has been deliberately impoverished by political mismanagement. Dismissing critical media coverage, Georgescu maintained that legitimate power belongs strictly to the citizens and framed national recovery as a collective spiritual effort.

In Romania, legitimate power belongs only to the Romanian people. Romania will rise through work and the will of all of us. Romania is not poor, it is impoverished. Enough. The wealth of this country must reach the lives of Romanians. So rise up! Lift up your hearts. Only with God forward and with the power in the hands of the people, Romania will rise.