Pro-EU centrist in Romania’s tense presidential race takes lead, preliminary data shows

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — The pro-European Union candidate in Romania’s tense presidential runoff has taken a lead in the polls, preliminary electoral data shows, in a closely-watched vote against a hard-right nationalist that could determine the geopolitical direction of the NATO member country.

The race pitted front-runner George Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, against incumbent Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan. It was held months after the cancellation of the previous election plunged Romania into its worst political crisis in decades.

After 8.5 million of 11.6 million votes had been counted, Dan was ahead with 53.56%, while Simion trailed at 46.44%, according to official data.

Thousands gathered outside Dan’s headquarters near Bucharest City Hall to await the final results, chanting “Nicusor!” Each time his lead widened as more results came in, the crowd, many waving the flags of Europe, would erupt in cheers.

Higher voter turnout than in first round

When voting closed at 9 p.m. (1800 GMT), official electoral data showed a 64% voter turnout. About 1.64 million Romanians abroad, who have been able to vote since Friday at specially set-up polling stations, participated in the vote.

Dan told the media that “elections are not about politicians” but about communities and that in Sunday's vote, “a community of Romanians has won, a community that wants a profound change in Romania.”

“When Romania goes through difficult times, let us remember the strength of this Romanian society,” he said. “There is also a community that lost today’s elections. A community that is rightly outraged by the way politics has been conducted in Romania up to now.”

Turnout was significantly higher in Sunday’s runoff and is expected to play a decisive role in the outcome. In , final turnout stood at 53% of eligible voters.

Romania’s political landscape was upended last year when a top court voided the previous election in which far-right outsider topped first-round polls, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow denied.

Standing on the steps of Romania’s colossal Communist-era parliament building after polls closed, Simion predicted a significant victory, which he called a “victory of the Romanian people.” Simion said that Georgescu was “supposed to be the president” before last year’s election was annulled. He also called for vigilance against election fraud, but said that overall he was satisfied with the conduct of the vote.

Shortly after 6 p.m., Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Andrei Tarnea said in a post on X that the election was subject to a “viral campaign of fake news” on the Telegram messaging app and other social media platforms, which tried to influence the electoral process and had “the hallmarks of Russian interference.”

Networks of have emerged as a pervasive force throughout Romania's entire election cycle. Romanian authorities debunked the deluge of fake news, Tarnea said.

Simion appeared alongside Georgescu at a Bucharest polling station on Sunday and told reporters that he voted against the “humiliations to which our sisters and brothers have been subjected.”

What's going on in Romania?

Years of endemic corruption and growing anger toward Romania’s have fueled a surge in support for anti-establishment and hard-right figures, reflecting a broader pattern across Europe. Both Simion and Dan have made their political careers railing against Romania’s old political class.

Most recent local surveys indicated that the runoff would be tight, after earlier ones showed Simion holding a lead over Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician who rose to prominence as a civic activist fighting against illegal real estate projects.

After voting in his hometown of Fagaras, Dan told reporters that he voted for Romanians “who are quiet, honest, and hardworking, and who have not felt represented for a long time," and “for strong cooperation with our European partners, not for Romania’s isolation.”

Dan founded the reformist Save Romania Union party in 2016, but later left, and is running independently on a pro-European Union ticket reaffirming Western ties, support for Ukraine and fiscal reform.

Simion's rhetoric in the lead-up to Sunday had raised some concerns that he wouldn't respect the outcome if he lost. In the early afternoon, he told reporters that his team was confident in a “landslide victory,” if the election was “free and fair.”

However, he repeated allegations of voting irregularities among Romanian citizens in neighboring Moldova and said that his party members would conduct a parallel vote count after polls close. He told The Associated Press that the ballot so far had proceeded properly.

Adrian Nadin, a 51-year-old musician who supported Georgescu in the previous election, said that he chose Simion.

“A part of Romania prefers conservatism,” he said.

Luminita Petrache, a 32-year-old financial crimes analyst, didn't want to say who she voted for but described the runoff as a geopolitical choice between East and West.

“It is very important because the next president will be our image in Europe, and (decide) how Romania will evolve in the next five years,” she said. “I hope for changes in Romania in good ways.”

What's ahead?

The president is elected for a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in matters of national security and foreign policy. The winner of Sunday's race will be charged with nominating a new prime minister after Marcel Ciolacu stepped down following the failure of his coalition’s candidate .

After coming fourth in last year’s canceled race, Simion backed Georgescu, who was in the election redo. Simion then surged to front-runner in the May 4 first round after becoming the standard-bearer for the hard right.

A former activist who campaigned for reunification with neighboring Moldova, Simion says he would focus on reforms: slashing red tape and reducing bureaucracy and taxes. Still, he insists that restoring democracy is his priority, returning "the will of the people.”

His AUR party says it stands for “family, nation, faith, and freedom” and rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election. It has since grown to become the second-largest party in the Romanian legislature.

A stark choice: Russia or the EU?

His critics say Simion is a pro-Russia extremist who threatens Romania’s longstanding alliances in the EU and NATO.

In an AP interview, he rejected the accusations, saying that Russia is his country’s biggest threat and that he wants Romania to be treated as “equal partners” in Brussels.

“I don’t think he is a pro-Russian candidate, I also don’t think that he’s an anti-Russian candidate,” said Claudiu Tufis, an associate professor of political science at the University of Bucharest. “I think what is driving him is … his focus on what I call identity politics.”

In the first-round vote, Simion won a massive 61% of Romania’s large diaspora vote, with his calls to patriotism resonating with Romanians who moved abroad.