Romanian Presidential Elections: Pro-European Candidate Leads Nationalist Opponent

The centrist candidate in Romania’s presidential elections and Mayor of Bucharest, Nicolae Dan, declared that society had shown impressive strength following exit polls that placed him ahead of George Simion, a far-right supporter of Trump, in the second round of presidential elections held on Sunday (18/5/25). After counting 90% of the ballots, Nicolae Dan gathered nearly 54% of the votes compared to 46% for George Simion, leader of AUR. The publication of these percentages for the Romanian elections was met with confusion. At Nicolae Dan’s headquarters, located in a park in Bucharest, the 50-year-old candidate celebrated ‘the victory of a community of Romanians who want deep change.’ ‘Let’s enjoy this night, and starting tomorrow, we rebuild Romania,’ he added as supporters chanted ‘Europe’ and ‘Unity.’ Meanwhile, his opponent, speaking outside parliament, self-proclaimed himself the ‘new president of Romania,’ factoring in diaspora votes to claim victory while accusing the process of fraud. George Simion claims Romania’s voter rolls still include deceased individuals and has launched an emergency line to report fraud. He says the same tactic was used in the first round: ‘We didn’t have any dead people suddenly rise and vote.’ Simion, a proponent of national sovereignty and admirer of Donald Trump, dominated the first round on May 4th with almost 41%, double the percentage of his rival. However, many Romanians mobilized between rounds to overturn the outcome of a vote presented as critical for the country’s European future, neighboring Ukraine, five months after the rare annulment of a vote tainted by suspicions of Russian interference. Voter turnout rose to nearly 65%, compared to just 53% in the first round.