Romania's election shock: Far‑right gains unexpected lead
On Sunday, Romania's first round of presidential elections took place. Unexpectedly, the far-right radical Calin Georgescu, running as an independent candidate and "fighting against the system, " achieved the highest result. In second place was the poll favourite, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.
25 November 2024 06:01
The EU is concerned that far-right George Simion remains in the "top positions." The media emphasizes that he models himself on Kaczyński, Meloni, and Trump.
George Simion, the presidential candidate and leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), is one of the 14 candidates running for the country's leadership.
After counting votes from 99.8% of the committees, the ultra-right candidate Calin Georgescu, little known to Romanians, holds the top spot in the first round of the presidential elections. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is in second place, but his lead over Elena Lasconi is slight.
Surprise with the results in the first round
The election results surprised everyone, from politicians and voters to sociologists and the media. Georgescu is a fringe politician with extreme views who lacks party support but gained popularity mainly through a campaign on TikTok.
The high result of another anti-system candidate — the aforementioned George Simion — raised concern among Romanian experts and the media.
- This means that populist and anti-system forces, represented by Simion and Georgescu, have at least 30% of the votes combined. In addition, there's the even more radical Diana Sosoaca, who was not allowed to run in the presidential elections by the Constitutional Court - commented Romanian journalists in a conversation with the Polish Press Agency.
A shift to the right for Romania?
Simion promised to take a more assertive stance in Brussels and defend Romania's national interests, even if it meant disregarding European Union law. Therefore, if elected president, he will join a growing group of right-wing leaders in the bloc.
The AUR leader said his role models are American Donald Trump, Italian Giorgia Meloni, and Polish Jarosław Kaczyński. He also emphasized that he "wants peace in Ukraine like Trump."
The second round of presidential elections in Romania will take place on December 8th.
