Nicușor Dan, the pro-EU centrist mayor of Bucharest, won the rerun of Romania’s presidential election on Sunday, May 18th, beating radical nationalist George Simion.
Dan gained close to 54% of the vote, while Simion secured some 46%, according to near complete results.
“It’s the victory of thousands and thousands of people who believe that Romania can change in the right direction,” Dan told supporters, who chanted “Europe” and “Russia, Russia, Romania is not yours.”
Simion, who leads the nationalist AUR party, and who has criticised what he called the EU’s “absurd policies” and proposed cutting military aid to Ukraine, vowed to “continue our fight” for Romania and to put its 19 million people “first.”
The ballot came five months after Romania’s constitutional court annulled an election over allegations of Russian interference and a massive social media promotion of the then-nationalist candidate frontrunner, Călin Georgescu—the allegations were never proven.
On the other hand, former European Commissioner Thierry Breton strongly hinted that EU pressure could have played a role in the Romanian decision to cancel last year’s election following the first round victory of Georgescu.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Dan, and vowed she would help work towards “a strong Europe.” French President Emmanuel Macron said Romanians had “chosen democracy, the rule of law, and the European Union… despite many attempts at manipulation.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also congratulated Dan, saying it “is important to have Romania as a reliable partner.”
