Romania Pro-Russian's presidential bid troubles Europe

After an upset in the first of three crunch votes that could lead to Romania veering towards a more anti-EU, pro-Russian stance, the country will return to the polls on Sunday for a parliamentary ballot followed, on 8 December, by a presidential runoff.

- Jon Henley

The votes will be closely watched in Brussels, which does not want another disruptive, sovereignist influence in the region alongside Hungary and Slovakia, and among western allies, which Bucharest has reliably backed against Moscow.

Romania shares a 400-mile border with Ukraine and plays a key strategic role, hosting a big Nato military base, donating a Patriot air defence battery and providing a transit route for millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain.

Who is running for president and who might win?

The race to replace the outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis, produced an early shock when both pre-election frontrunners, including the centre-left prime minister, were knocked out in the first round, which was won by a little-known far-right, Russia-friendly independent.

Călin Georgescu, 62, an ultranationalist who has praised Vladimir Putin as "a man who loves his country", and was polling at 5% just before the vote, finished first on 22.9%, with Elena Lasconi, of the liberal-progressive Save Romania Union (USR), second on 19.2%.