Romania's right-wing leader tops first round in repeat election
In Romania, repeated presidential elections have taken place. Exit polls indicate that the leader of the radical right-wing AUR party received the most votes in the first round. Voter turnout exceeded 53 percent. Approximately 19 million people were eligible to vote in the country and abroad.
In these repeated presidential elections, George Simion, the leader of the radical right-wing AUR (Alliance for the Union of Romanians) party, received the most votes in the first round, obtaining 33.1 percent support. The liberal Crin Antonescu came in second with 22.9 percent. Nicușor Dan, the mayor of Bucharest, secured third place with 20.9 percent, according to an exit poll conducted by the CURS centre.
Another study, conducted by phone by the INSCOP centre, also indicates Simion leading with 36.2 percent support. In this study, Antonescu received 21.5 percent and Dan 20.6 percent. Results from the Avangarde centre's exit poll give Simion 30 percent, with both Dan and Antonescu at 23 percent each.
The other candidates included Victor Ponta, a former prime minister from the Social Democrats, Elena Lasconi, leader of the centre-right USR (Save Romania Union), Cristian Terheș from the Romanian National Conservative Party, Marcela Sandru (Humanist Social Liberal Party), Sebastian Popescu from the New Romania Party, Silviu Predoiu from the National Action League Party, as well as independent candidates John-Ion Banu-Muscel and Petru Funeriu.
Active diaspora
Voter turnout in Romania was over 53 percent. Approximately 19 million people were eligible to vote in the country and abroad. The diaspora was particularly active, with about 970,000 citizens voting, which is higher than in the previous elections. Notably, more than 6 million citizens live outside Romania's borders.
Sunday's elections were a re-vote after the Constitutional Court annulled the first round from November 2024. There were allegations against Călin Georgescu, who took first place at the time, concerning campaign violations and Russian support.
