Far-right George Simion won the first round of Romania’s presidential elections with 40.5% of the vote and will face Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, who placed second with 20.89%, in the second round on May 18. Crin Antonescu, the joint candidate of the ruling coalition, came third with 20.34%. [1], [2]
This is a repeat of the November elections, which were annulled by the Supreme Court after allegations of Russian interference that affected the result. Georgescu, who won those elections, was banned from running again and now supports Simion.
The total number of candidates was 11, and approximately 9.57 million voters participated, representing 53.2% of eligible voters.
“I am here to restore constitutional order,” said Simion, who placed fourth in last year’s elections and later supported Georgescu. “I want democracy, I want stability, and my only goal is to return to the Romanian people what was taken from them and to put ordinary, honest, and dignified people at the center of decision-making.”
Georgescu, who appeared with Simion at an election center in Bucharest, called the annulment of the November elections and the repetition of the vote a “fraud orchestrated by those who made fraud the sole state policy.”
Simion is a supporter of Donald Trump, an anti-European, and opposed to Western military aid to Ukraine. His party originally began as an anti-vaccination movement.
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