Presidential election in Romania heads to a runoff
In the rerun of Romania's presidential election, the first round was led by George Simion, leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR); Simion, who took first place with 41 percent, and independent candidate Nicuşor Dan, who placed second with 21 percent, will compete in the second round to be held on May 18.
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In Romania, a member of the European Union (EU) and NATO, 18 million registered voters went to the polls to elect the country's new president.
The turnout for the first round, in which 11 candidates competed, was reported at 53 percent.
According to preliminary results with more than 99 percent of the votes counted, far-right candidate Simion won the first round with 41 percent of the vote, while independent candidate Nicuşor Dan, the Mayor of the capital Bucharest, became the other candidate to compete in the second round with 21 percent.
Crin Antonescu, the joint candidate of the ruling coalition, fell behind due to votes cast abroad and placed third with 20 percent. Under these circumstances, the ruling parties are expected to support Dan against the far-right in the second round.
Simion, the founding leader of the far-right AUR, denies allegations that he is 'pro-Russian' and also demands an end to military aid to Ukraine.
Simion, who conducted his election campaign alongside Calin Georgescu, an anti-Western and anti-NATO candidate who placed first in the first round of the presidential election held and subsequently canceled in November 2024, plans to appoint Georgescu to a high-level position if elected.
FIRST ROUND HAD BEEN CANCELED
In the first round of the presidential election held in Romania on November 24, 2024, anti-Western and anti-NATO independent candidate Calin Georgescu had finished first with 22.95 percent of the vote. Elena Lasconi from the center-right Save Romania Union party had placed second with 19.17 percent.