The leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party, George Simion, has won the first round of the presidential elections in Romania, according to data from the country’s Central Election Bureau.
The mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dăn, is in second place with 20.99% of the vote. He is followed by the representative of the ruling coalition, Crin Antonescu, with 20.07% of the vote. Voter turnout was 53.21%.
According to Romanian law, the winner of the presidential election is the candidate who receives more than half of the votes cast by registered voters. If less than 50% of the votes are cast, a second round of elections is held two weeks later, in which the candidate who receives a simple majority is declared the winner.
Candidates for the presidential elections
Eleven candidates are running for the Romanian presidency, including Simion, Dana, Antonescu, USR leader Elena Lasconi, former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, and Conservative leader Cristian Terheș.
Antonescu conceded defeat in the first round of the presidential election, losing to Dana. He noted that he was happy to return to politics and thanked voters and the three coalition parties for their support. Antonescu also added that he did not know the coalition’s plans for the second round, as he is not part of it, and the decision on which candidates to support remains with the coalition.
Simion had earlier declared victory, stressing that his goal was to restore constitutional order and the rights of the people in Romania, not to seize power.
None of the candidates received more than 50% of the vote, so a second round will be held in Romania on May 18, in which the candidates who came first and second will compete. Due to the extremely small gap in the voting results, it is not yet clear who will be Simion’s opponent in the second round of the elections.
The previous presidential elections were held in the country in November 2024, with Calin Georgescu emerging as the leader in the first round. The Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of elections, and Georgescu was later charged with a number of offences, including spreading false information and illegal campaign financing.
