European leaders have hailed the unexpected victory of a centrist as Romania’s new president, after his hard-right rival refused to accept defeat.
As near-complete results showed Nicusor Dan, a former mathematician and centrist mayor of Bucharest, had taken more than 54 per cent of votes, the defeated favourite George Simion wrote “I am the new president of Romania” on X.
Dan’s victory is a relief for EU officials who were alarmed at Simion’s attacks on Brussels, his threat to halt support for Ukraine, to annex Moldova and the support he enjoyed from Trump officials.
President Zelensky hailed the result as a “historic victory”, posting on X: “For Ukraine as a neighbour and friend it is important to have Romania as a reliable partner. And we are confident we will.” President Macron seemingly took a swipe at Simion, saying, that “despite numerous attempts at manipulation, Romanians chose democracy, the rule of law and the European Union”, while EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said voters had chosen a “prosperous Romania in a strong Europe”.
The result reversed the outcome of the first round of voting two weeks ago, when Dan received just 21 per cent of the vote, compared with Simion’s 41 per cent.
Since the first round, however, polls showed Dan, 55, gaining ground on Simion, 38, as he gathered centrist votes before pulling even, setting up a tense run-off vote.
The election was held this year after a previous round of voting last November was annulled by Romanian authorities after allegations that the winner, Calin Georgescu, was backed by a Russian-funded TikTok campaign.Simion backed Georgescu and promised him the prime minister’s job if he won.
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On Sunday, a Romanian foreign ministry spokesperson reported “a viral campaign of fake news on Telegram and other social media platforms”, adding, “During Romania’s ongoing presidential elections yet again we see the hallmarks of Russian interference.”
The founder of the Telegram messaging app countered that he had turned down a request by a western government, which he hinted was France, to censor conservative views in Romania ahead of the run-off.
“A western European government… approached Telegram, asking us to silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of today’s presidential elections. I flatly refused,” founder Pavel Durov wrote on Telegram. The French foreign ministry called the allegations “completely unfounded.”
A two-term mayor of Bucharest, Dan has built a reputation as a battler against corruption, who fought to save the city’s heritage architecture from demolition by property developers.
He founded the reformist Save Romania Union party in 2016 but later went solo and as an independent candidate has pitched himself as a political outsider like Simion.
“Dan was the only alternative to Simion in the run-off and, because he represented no party, he avoided the curse of Romania’s rejected mainstream parties,” said Jonathan Eyal, the associate director of the Royal United Services Institute.
After voting in his home town of Fagaras yesterday, Dan said: “I voted for a change that brings prosperity, not one that brings instability and discourages investment in Romania.
“I voted for a European direction, and for strong co-operation with our European partners, not for Romania’s isolation. I voted for a society where we can have dialogue, not one where we are destined to be divided.”
Simion was so confident of victory that he avoided TV debates — a trick borrowed from Donald Trump — which may have cost him votes. Following Elon Musk’s example he threatened to axe half a million Romanian state jobs, another potential vote loser.
As his victory became clear, Dan said, “There is a community that lost today’s elections. A community that, rightly, is outraged by the way politics has been conducted in Romania so far. It is so outraged that it believes that the solution is the revolution. It is our obligation to convince these people that the solution is the reform of the judiciary and administration, so that Romania can move forward.”
Before this weekend’s voting Simion claimed that he risked being the victim of voting fraud and said that 1.5 million dead Romanians were still on voter lists.
Liberal civil rights groups have said tough online content laws rushed through by the Romanian government this year which have stifled political debate.
