Romanian far-right leader, centrist mayor in presidential run-off

A Romanian ultranationalist aligned with Mr. Donald Trump will head to a presidential run-off against the centrist mayor of Bucharest later in May after securing victory in a repeat election on May 4, the latest blow to the nation's ruling establishment.

- 

Mr. George Simion of the ultranationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) secured about 41 per cent of the vote, while independent Nicusor Dan won 21 per cent, Romania's election authority said early on May 5, with almost all votes counted.

Former liberal party leader Crin Antonescu, who was backed by the ruling coalition, came in third and will miss out on the run-off, in a move that risks unsettling the current government led by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.

Even with a commanding win, polls have shown that a May 18 run-off is likely to be a close contest.

It will decide whether the NATO member state maintains the reliably transatlantic course it has pursued for the 3½ decades since the collapse of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's regime, or turns to anti-establishment forces that have challenged the European Union's liberal order.

The vote was the second attempt to choose a president after the shock victory of a far-right fringe candidate in 2024 prompted accusations of Kremlin interference and the High Court's cancellation of the ballot.

The unexpected first-round victory in November of Mr. Calin Georgescu, who had been banned from running in the May 4 race, prompted Romania's biggest political crisis since the fall of communism.

Still, Mr. Simion's result is significantly higher than what pre-election polls had indicated.

It also exceeds the combined number of votes that he and Mr. Georgescu won in the first round of the cancelled ballot, a sign of growing voter exasperation with the latest turmoil.