The head of the Romanian nationalist party Alliance for the Unification of Romanians (AUR), George Simion, has received 40.96% of the vote, according to the final data of the Romanian Central Electoral Commission. His rival will be the founder of the center-right “Union for the Salvation of Romania”, the general mayor of Bucharest Nicusor Dan, who got 20.99%.
Crin Antonescu, supported by the center-left “Romania, Forward” alliance, came third in the first round, receiving 20.09% of the vote. He does not qualify for the second round.
Simion is a Eurosceptic and an admirer of Donald Trump’s policies. He is also known for denying Moldova’s statehood and advocating an end to military aid to Ukraine. If he wins, he has promised to return the ousted far-right politician Calin Georgescu to power. The latter won the first round of the previous election, but the result of the vote was canceled because the country’s security services suspected Russia of interfering in the presidential campaign. Georgescu was banned from running in the new elections by the country’s Constitutional Court.
