Former Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta joined the race for May's presidential election re-run on Wednesday as the hard right worked to ensure they had a candidate in the contest after the ban on pro-Russian Calin Georgescu threw the vote wide open.

Romanian far-right populist Calin Georgescu has appealed the decision to bar him from running in the country's presidential election 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.