BUCHAREST -- Centrist Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan has won the presidential runoff over ultranationalist candidate George Simion amid high turnout, a surprising outcome that will likely keep Romania on its pro-Western path.
With 100 percent of ballots counted early on May 19, Dan has more than 53.6 percent of the vote (6.17 million) in the runoff, ahead of Simion at 46.4 percent (5.34 million), according to Romania’s election commission.
Earlier, separate polls by Avangarde and CURS gave Dan the victory with just over 54 percent in the second round of a controversial process that followed months of unprecedented political chaos.
"It's your victory, you know," Dan said in a speech to supporters. "It's the victory of thousands and thousands of people, who campaigned, who believed that Romania could change. Don't forget this force, because we have things to do."
“Total respect for those who made a different choice today, and for those who made a different choice in the first round. We have a Romania to build together, regardless of political choices,” he added.
Simion, after initially claiming victory, conceded defeat in the early hours of May 19, easing some fears of a potential standoff.
"I am proud of you and I congratulate my opponent for winning," Simion said in a Facebook post. "Nicușor Dan won the elections" and this "was the will of the Romanian people."
Turnout was more than 64 percent -- a record -- with around 11.6 million Romanians from the country and abroad voting, over 2 million more than in the first round and more than in last November's initial vote, which was annulled amid accusations of Russian meddling in the campaign.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she sent her “warmest congratulations” to Dan, adding that "the Romanian people turned out massively to the polls. They have chosen the promise of an open, prosperous Romania in a strong Europe,” she wrote on X. “Together let’s deliver on that promise.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Dan -- who has vowed to continue his country's support for Kyiv -- saying, "For Ukraine -- as a neighbor and friend -- it is important to have Romania as a reliable partner."
French President Emmanuel Macron said he called Dan and "congratulated him on his election as the head of Romania."
"Despite numerous attempts at manipulation, Romanians have this evening chosen democracy, the rule of law and the European Union," Macron wrote on X.
Simion was drafted in as a replacement for Calin Georgescu, who was not allowed to run after he won a first round of voting in November.
Simion built on Georgescu's success, as he scored some 41 percent support in the first round of voting on May 4. Dan was a distant second on nearly 21 percent.
In most polls conducted since then, Simion had been ahead, though the most recent surveys put the candidates neck-and-neck.
Simion -- leader of the AUR party -- initially refused to concede and declared victory in the runoff for himself.
"We are the clear victors of this election,” he told supports on live TV. “We claim this victory on behalf of the Romanian people."
Simion earlier said his numbers showed he won the vote by some 400,000 ballots.
"I thank the millions of people who made a victory possible. It is the victory of a man who was supposed to be the president of Romania, it is the victory of Calin Georgescu."
After two failed runs to be mayor of Bucharest, Dan was elected in 2020 and then re-elected in 2024 -- despite criticism for being a poor communicator while in office.
His decision to run for president raised eyebrows, given that he had only just been given a second term in charge of the capital. Dan explained the decision by referring to the political crisis that was engulfing Romania.
"We are in a moment of balance, the most difficult since 1989," he said, adding that "too many lies" had been told in the country's political life.
Dan said fighting corruption and interest groups would be a major issue for his presidency.
On foreign policy, Dan has spoken of keeping close relations with the United States while maintaining a consistently pro-EU stance.
Speaking after the first round of voting on May 4, Dan said the next round would be "a debate between a pro-Western direction for Romania and an anti-Western one."
In terms of powers, the president appoints the prime minister, subject to parliamentary approval, and represents Romania at NATO and EU summits. He can also wield the country's EU veto.
"We came out because we hope for a change, we need many things to change for the better in Romania, especially us young people," said Elena Lupu, a 30-year-old voter casting her ballot in a Bucharest polling precinct.
"We want a better future. We want [people] to stop leaving the country. We want to stay here, to have united families, to have jobs for young people," she told RFE/RL's Romanian Service.
Dan is not a member of any party, winning the race to be mayor of Bucharest as an independent -- and now has done the same for the presidency. The 55-year-old entered politics in 2015, pledging to fight corruption in the capital.
A mathematician, he gained his doctorate from the Sorbonne University in Paris in 1998 before returning to work at Romania's Mathematics Institute.
It was at this time he began campaigning as an activist on issues related to illegal construction, urban planning, and heritage protection.
Who Is George Simion?
Simion pledged to completely overturn Romania's politics, taking a Euroskeptic attitude within the European Union and ending support for Ukraine.
He also stressed ideological affiliation with "the MAGA movement" and posted a photo of himself online in a red baseball cap with the logo "Trump Save America."
The political affinity appeared mutual as Washington sharply criticized the decision to annul the first round of elections.
Simion has also riled Romania's neighbors. He has hinted at territorial claims on Ukraine and calls for union with Moldova, which has led to him being banned from entering both countries.
On May 19 a Moldovan court is set to reconsider his ban, which followed his arrest at a protest in the capital, Chisinau, in 2015.
A few years earlier, in 2011, he had a brush with the law in his own country, receiving a fine and six-month ban from entering soccer stadiums for racist chanting at a Romania-Bosnia match.
In December 2019, he co-founded the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) party, which is now the second-largest group in parliament. The party's website says it stands for Christian faith, low taxes, family values, and national sovereignty.
In 2023, former Moldovan Defense Minister Anatol Salaru alleged that Simion had secretly met with an agent of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in Ukraine.
Simion has denied both this incident and the wider claim that he is pro-Russian. He recently lost a court case in which he sought to sue Salaru over the allegation.
His election manifesto included items that many critics say do not fall within the presidential powers, such cheap housing.
He also said he would appoint Georgescu as prime minister. Georgescu, 63, has called 38-year-old Simeon "my young protege."
