BUCHAREST - Far-right politician George Simion has won the first round of Romania's presidential re-run elections. According to official results, after all the votes were counted, he won the support of 40.96 percent of voters, giving him a significant lead over the other candidates. The second round, which will decide the new president, will take place on 18 May.
Nicușor Dan, the current mayor of the Romanian capital Bucharest and an independent candidate, came second with 20.99 % of the vote. The third position was occupied by the candidate of the pro-European minority government, Crin Antonescu, who received 20.07 percent. He has already conceded defeat and is likely to be a key player in mobilising voters against Simion in the second round, according to Reuters.
The turnout was 53.2 percent, equivalent to more than 9.5 million citizens voting. The large Romanian diaspora, from which almost one million voters cast their ballots, also contributed to the significant turnout. During the campaign, George Simion, the leader of the nationalist and Eurosceptic Union for the Unification of Romanians (AUR) party, spoke out against the influence of the European Union and NATO on domestic politics. He strongly criticised military aid to Ukraine and promoted nationalist values, emphasising the traditional family, national identity and Christian roots. He often cited the inspiration of the MAGA movement of former US President Donald Trump.
The re-run elections were called after the Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the results of the original vote last December. This was due to suspicions of foreign interference in the elections, particularly by Russia. At that time, the pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu won, but was excluded from the current elections. Georgescu later described the new vote as rigged.
George Simion's victory in the first round raised concerns among European diplomats and Romanian liberal politicians. According to political analysts, his possible election as president could mean a deterioration in Romania's relations with its Western allies, a reduction in foreign investment and a weakening of the influence of democratic institutions in the country. Nicușor Dan will represent the moderate, pro-European part of society in the second round. Analysts warn that if he can unite supporters of pro-Western forces and opponents of the radical right, he may have a chance of success. However, the key will be how the voters of Crin Antonescu and those who did not vote in the first round behave.
Romania is thus facing a decisive clash between two distinctly different visions of the country's future - nationalist isolation versus continued European integration.
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