Romania banned far-right front-runner Calin Georgescu from taking part in the May presidential election in a move that deepens the country’s political turmoil and risks provoking the wrath of the Trump administration.

The Bucharest-based electoral bureau rejected Georgescu’s candidacy at a meeting on Sunday, it said in a statement, after receiving more than 1,000 complaints, mostly relating to his anti-democratic and extremist stances. The ruling can still be appealed at the Constitutional Court.

The move will likely worsen Romania’s anti-establishment mood and bolster the far-right. It could also strain ties with the US administration of President Donald Trump, which has urged Bucharest to let Georgescu take part in the re-run of the election after a shock decision to cancel the previous ballot in December.

The opinion polls have indicated Georgescu would have gotten between 40% and 45% of the vote in the first round on May 4, giving him a real shot to become Romania’s president in the run-off.