Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Far-right Eurosceptic candidate George Simion is projected to win the first round of Romania’s presidential election on May 4, gaining nearly 40% of the votes with a majority of polling stations reporting.
The election will go to a run-off on May 18, although it was not immediately clear as to which second-place challenger will face off against Simion. The results show a close race between Crin Antonescu, the former acting president backed by Romania's governing coalition, and Nicusor Dan, 55, Bucharest's mayor running as an independent with a strong anti-corruption platform.
Antonescu is currently leading with 20.96% of the vote to Dan's 20.04%. Simion is positioned well ahead with 39.97% of the vote.
The vote follows the annulment of the previous first round held in November 2024, when Romania's Constitutional Court invalidated the outcome due to evidence of social media manipulation and foreign interference.
That round had been won by populist Calin Georgescu, who openly promoted conspiracy theories and voiced strong support for Russia, calling Ukraine a "fictional state" and predicting its partition as "inevitable."
Simion, who was banned from entering Ukraine in November 2024 over systematic anti-Ukrainian activities, leads a party opposed to sending weapons to Ukraine and against transferring Romanian Patriot air defense systems to Kyiv.
Both Antonescu and Dan support continued membership in the EU and NATO, as well as aid to Ukraine.
Despite Georgescu's controversies plaguing the first round of election held in 2024, Simion has sought to capitalize support over Georgescu's popularity. Simion has said he will find Georgescu a position within his government, possibly as prime minister.
Romania, a NATO member bordering Ukraine, has signed a bilateral security agreement with Kyiv, backed sanctions against Russia, sent a Patriot missile system to Ukraine, and facilitated the export of Ukrainian grain amid Russian threats in the Black Sea.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
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