A far-right, pro-Russian candidate has taken a surprise lead in the first round of Romania’s presidential election, with his pro-Europe rival in second place in preliminary results.
According to the Central Electoral Bureau, with 96% of the votes counted, ultranationalist Calin Georgescu received 22% and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu received 20%.
The strong performance of Georgescu, who has no party of his own and campaigned largely on the social media platform TikTok, was the biggest surprise of the election.
He is now on track to join Cioluaku in the final race for the presidency on December 8.
This would create a dilemma for millions of Romanians who voted for other candidates.
One option would be to rally around the populist Social Democrat Ciolucu, an established figure who would continue Romania’s pro-West path.
One option is to support Georgescu, who promises Romania’s sovereignty.
Georgescu, who does not belong to any party, has also vowed to end subservience to the EU and NATO, especially over Ukraine’s support. He has condemned the NATO Ballistic Missile Defense Shield in Devcelu, Romania.
The final result of this round will be known later on Monday, when votes from the capital Bucharest and the large Romanian diaspora are counted.
The election campaign mainly focused on the rising cost of living, with Romania having the largest share of people at risk of poverty in the EU.
Exit polls released earlier on Sunday suggested Ciolacu had a huge lead and predicted centre-right candidate Elena Lasconi would finish in second place.
However, current numbers place Lasconi in third place with 18%, and another nationalist, George Simion, in fourth.
In Romania the President has a largely symbolic role but has considerable influence on areas such as foreign policy.
Turnout was 51%, similar to the figure five years earlier.
