George Simion, the right-wing opposition leader from the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, is leading in Romania’s presidential race, exit polls released Sunday evening revealed.
The exit polls released by broadcasters Digi24 and Antena 3 showed Simion securing 30 percent of the vote in the first round, according to a report by Bloomberg. Former Liberal Party leader Crin Antonescu and Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan each received 23 percent of the vote, leaving the second-place slot to be determined before a runoff election set to take place in two weeks.
The election follows a contentious vote last year in which another right-wing candidate, Calin Georgescu, won the presidency in an election later annulled by Romania’s high court over allegations of Russian interference. Georgescu was barred from running in this year’s contest. The overturning of that election sparked international backlash and was referenced by US Vice President JD Vance during his speech at the Munich Security Conference in February as an example of anti-democratic practices spreading in Europe.
Polls show that Simion is expected to win the election. However, he could face some potential resistance in a runoff election should supporters of Antonescu and Dan consolidate their votes in favor of the second-place candidate.
Simion has stated that his party is “fully aligned” with other right-wing governments such as Donald Trump’s administration and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government. He has advocated for ending Romanian assistance to Ukraine, though he has also condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal. Romania, an EU member state, has the bloc’s largest land border with Ukraine and has played a major role in aiding Ukrainian grain exports through its Black Sea ports.
