Romanian right-wing leader George Simion leads presidential race, faces runoff

According to exit polls released on Sunday evening, George Simion, a right-wing opposition leader from the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, is leading in Romania’s presidential race with 30 percent of the vote in the first round. Former Liberal Party leader Crin Antonescu and Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan both received 23 percent of the vote, leading to a runoff election to determine the second-place candidate. The runoff is scheduled to take place in two weeks.

The current election follows a controversial vote last year, where right-wing candidate Calin Georgescu won the presidency, but the result was later annulled by Romania’s high court due to allegations of Russian interference. Georgescu was not allowed to run in this year’s election. The annulment of the previous election caused international criticism, with US Vice President JD Vance mentioning it during a speech at the Munich Security Conference as an instance of anti-democratic practices spreading in Europe.

Despite predictions that Simion is likely to win the election, he could encounter resistance in the runoff election if supporters of Antonescu and Dan rally behind the second-place candidate. Simion has expressed his party’s alignment with other right-wing governments such as the administration of Donald Trump and the government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He has called for the end of Romanian aid to Ukraine but has also criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal. Romania, as a member state of the EU, shares its largest land border with Ukraine and has played a significant role in assisting Ukrainian grain exports through its Black Sea ports.