Pro-EU centrist wins Romania’s tense presidential race over hard-right nationalist

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Pro-European Union candidate Nicusor Dan has won Romania’s closely watched presidential runoff against a hard-right nationalist, nearly complete electoral data shows. A huge turnout Sunday played a key role in the tense election that many viewed as a geopolitical choice between East or 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 incumbent mayor of Bucharest. It was held months after the cancelation 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%, while Simion trailed at 45.81%, 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.

Thousands gathered outside Dan’s headquarters near Bucharest City Hall to await the final results, chanting “Nicusor!” Each time his lead widened as more results came in, the crowd, many waving the flags of Europe, would erupt in cheers.

Higher voter turnout than in first round

When voting closed at 9 p.m. local time (1800 GMT), official electoral data showed a 64% 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% of eligible voters.

Dan told the media 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.”

Shortly after 11 p.m., Dan emerged onto the balcony of his headquarters and waved to his thousands of supporters who had gathered along the length of a boulevard in central Bucharest, eliciting an ecstatic roar from the crowd.

At the raucous rally, Ruxandra Gheorghiu told The Associated Press that she felt overwhelmed by the result.

“I was so scared that our European force is near the end … we are still in Europe and we are not fighting for this right," she said. "I cannot explain the feeling right now.”

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, which Moscow denied.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sent her “warmest congratulations” to Dan and noted that Romanians “turned out massively” to vote. “They have chosen the promise of an open, prosperous Romania in a strong Europe,” she said in a post on X. “Together let’s deliver on that promise.”

Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician who rose to prominence as a civic activist fighting against illegal real estate projects. In 2026, he founded the reformist Save Romania Union party but later left, and ran independently on a pro-European Union ticket reaffirming Western ties, support for Ukraine and fiscal reform.

Standing on the steps of Romania’s colossal Communist-era parliament building after polls closed, Simion had predicted a victory, and said that Georgescu was “supposed to be the president” before last year’s election was annulled.

He also called for vigilance against election fraud, but said that overall he was satisfied with the conduct of the vote.

What's going on in Romania?

Years of endemic corruption and growing anger toward Romania's political establishment have fueled 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.

Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, told the AP that Romanians “rejected hate and reactionary politics and embraced the pro-western direction” for their country.

“It is a win for the optimistic Romania, but there is a large part of voters that are really upset with the direction of the country,” he said. “Romania comes out of this election very divided, with a totally new political landscape, where older political parties are challenged to adapt to a new reality.”

In the lead-up to Sunday's vote, Simion's rhetoric had raised some concerns that he wouldn't respect the outcome if he lost. In the early afternoon, he told reporters that his team was confident in a “landslide victory,” if the election was “free and fair.”

However, he repeated allegations of voting irregularities among Romanian citizens in neighboring Moldova and said that his party members would conduct a parallel vote count after polls closed. He told The Associated Press that the ballot so far had proceeded properly.

Adrian Nadin, a 51-year-old musician who supported Georgescu in the previous election, said that he chose Simion. “A part of Romania prefers conservatism,” he said.

“It is very important because the next president will be our image in Europe, and (decide) how Romania will evolve in the next five years,” said Luminita Petrache, a 32-year-old financial crimes analyst. “I hope for changes in Romania in good ways.”

What's ahead?

The president is elected for a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in matters of national security and foreign policy. The winner of Sunday's race will be charged with nominating a new prime minister after Marcel Ciolacu stepped down following the failure of his coalition's candidate to advance to the runoff.

After coming fourth in last year's canceled 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.

A former activist who campaigned for reunification with neighboring Moldova, Simion says he would focus on reforms: slashing red tape and reducing bureaucracy and taxes. Still, he insists that restoring democracy is his priority, returning "the will of the people.”

His AUR party says it stands for “family, nation, faith, and freedom” and rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election. It has since grown to become the second-largest party in the Romanian legislature.