Pro-EU centrist wins Romanian presidential race over hard-right nationalist
Rerun election viewed by many as a geopolitical choice between East and West
Pro-European Union candidate Nicusor Dan has won Romania's closely watched presidential run-off against a hard-right nationalist, nearly complete electoral data shows. A huge turnout on Sunday played a key role in the tense election that many viewed as a geopolitical choice between East and West.
The race pitted front-runner George Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, against Dan, the mayor of Bucharest.
It was held months after the cancellation of the previous election plunged Romania into its worst political crisis in decades.
After 10.7 million of 11.6 million votes were counted, Dan was ahead with 54.19 per cent, while Simion trailed at 45.81 per cent, according to official data. In the first-round vote on May 4, Simion won almost double the votes as Dan, and many local surveys had predicted he would secure the presidency.
But in a swing that appeared to be a repudiation of Simion's more skeptical approach to the EU, which Romania joined in 2007, Dan picked up almost 900,000 more votes to solidly defeat his opponent in the final round.
When voting closed at 9 p.m. local time, official electoral data showed a 64 per cent voter turnout. About 1.64 million Romanians abroad at specially set up polling stations participated in the vote, some 660,000 more than in the first round. In the first round on May 4, the final turnout stood at 53 per cent of eligible voters.
Dan told reporters that "elections are not about politicians" but about communities and that in Sunday's vote, "a community of Romanians has won, a community that wants a profound change in Romania."
"When Romania goes through difficult times, let us remember the strength of this Romanian society," he said. "There is also a community that lost today's elections. A community that is rightly outraged by the way politics has been conducted in Romania up to now."
Thousands gathered outside Dan's headquarters near Bucharest's city hall to await the final results, chanting "Nicusor!" Each time his lead widened as more results came in, the crowd, many waving European Union flags, erupted in cheers.
Romania's political landscape was upended last year when a top court voided the previous election in which far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first-round polls, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, a charge Moscow denied.
After coming fourth in last year's cancelled race, Simion backed Georgescu, who was banned in March from running in the election redo. Simion then surged to front-runner in the May 4 first round after becoming the standard bearer for the hard right.
Years of endemic corruption and growing anger toward Romania's political establishment have fuelled a surge in support for anti-establishment and hard-right figures, reflecting a broader pattern across Europe. Both Simion and Dan have made their political careers railing against Romania's old political class.
Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician who rose to prominence as a civic activist fighting against illegal real estate projects, ran independently on a pro-European Union ticket reaffirming Western ties, support for Ukraine and fiscal reform.
A former activist who backed reunification with neighbouring Moldova, Simion campaigned on reforms: slashing red tape, and reducing bureaucracy and taxes. His AUR party says it stands for "family, nation, faith and freedom" and rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election.