BUCHAREST -- Ultranationalist politician George Simion easily won the first round of a rerun of Romania's presidential election, setting up a runoff with pro-Western reformist Nicusor Dan in a vote that could impact the country's political direction and its support for Ukraine.
Far-right leaders from around the globe sent their congratulations to Simion, 38, after results showed he took 41 percent of the vote in the May 4 election, nearly double that of Dan, the current mayor of Bucharest, who garnered 21 percent. A second round of voting will take place May 18.
Simion, an outspoken supporter of US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who leads the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), has promoted reunifying Romania and neighboring Moldova, along with halting military aid to Ukraine.
He was banned in 2024 from entering Ukraine for three years for what Kyiv called "systematic anti-Ukrainian activities" while Moldova has called him a national security threat and barred him from entering the country as well.
Simion, who benefitted from a wave of anger coursing through the electorate, has also pledged to break EU laws he disagrees with, though he also says Romania should remain in the bloc.
"This is not just an electoral victory, it is a victory of Romanian dignity. It is the victory of those who have not lost hope, of those who still believe in Romania, a free, respected, sovereign country," Simion said.
Reactions on the ground reflected a degree of cynicism about the election in Bucharest.
Student George Bistriceanu, one of 9.5 million Romanians who voted, said the election results "are somewhat to be expected. I honestly didn't find it surprising, but in the end that was everyone's vote."
Another student, Alicia Danculescu, called Simion's win "honestly, pretty outrageous. I wasn't expecting those percentages."
Bucharest resident Iulian Tudorache suggested the result could be seen as a protest vote, saying, "This is not all right, but they've stopped putting up with the system."
While Simion had lead in most opinion polls before the election, his result and the margin of victory -- though it fell short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff -- was praised by far-right leaders across Europe.
Antonio Giordano, secretary-general of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party, said Simion's success "confirms how vision, courage, and passion can pave the way for change."
Former Polish prime minister from the Law and Justice Party (PiS) Mateusz Morawiecki and French far-right politician Marion Marechal, the granddaughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France's National Front (FN), congratulated Simion as well.
The 55-year-old Dan -- considered a political moderate -- is a mathematician and former anti-corruption activist who founded the Save Romania Union party (USR) in 2016.
"This was a democratic process that Romania needed…. This won't be a debate between individuals, it will be a debate between a pro-Western direction for Romania and an anti-Western one," Dan said after the vote.
"I call on all Romanians to be part of this battle, and I am optimistic that we will win."
Last November, Calin Georgescu, a pro-Russian nationalist seen as a fringe candidate, pulled off a surprise win in the first round of voting.
However, authorities annulled the results amid accusations of a Russian influence campaign to boost his candidacy. Georgescu was banned from running in the new elections, and a raft of new rules were introduced for the May 4 rerun.
Romania's Controversial Canceled Election
The canceled vote drew criticism outside of Romania, most prominently from US Vice President JD Vance, who weighed in during a speech at the Munich Security Conference in February, accusing officials of acting on "flimsy suspicious and enormous pressure from its continental neighbors."
Simion has publicly embraced some of the rhetoric of US President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again movement.
In the two months since Vance's comments, tensions in Romania have been rising. The country has a 650-kilometer border with Ukraine and the political establishment in Bucharest has been further jolted by Washington's sharp policy shift on Ukraine and Russia.
In November, he posted a photograph of himself wearing Trump's signature red baseball cap with the logo "Trump Save America," and he recently said he's "perfectly aligned ideologically with the MAGA movement."
On April 24, electoral authorities announced an investigation into Simion's political party over allegations it had violated campaign-financing rules.
The investigation has centered on allegations that Simion organized a $1.5 million payment to a US lobbying firm to set up meetings in Washington with prominent media figures allied with Trump. Simion has denied the allegations.
The election campaign drew outside observers to monitor the vote. In a pre-election report, monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) criticized some of Romania's registration and vote tallying procedures.
The Trump administration also sent its own election observer independent of the OSCE: a top official from the Federal Election Commission, which oversees US elections.
Under Romania's constitution, the president appoints the country's prime minister. The appointment needs to be approved by parliament, where Simion's AUR is the largest opposition party.
The president also represents Romania at NATO and EU summits and can use Romania's veto of EU decisions.
