Independent candidate Nicosor Dan received 6,104,979 votes (53.78 percent) in the second round of the presidential elections in Romania, according to data published in real time on the website of the Permanent Electoral Authority, after the centralization of 20,037 protocols (99.76 percent) out of a total of 20,085.
In second place is Gheorghe Simion, candidate of the Alliance for the Unification of Romanians, who received 5,247,092 votes, which represents 46.22 percent, Agerpres reported, quoted by BTA.
Over 11.6 million Romanians participated in the vote, with a record 1.6 million voting abroad million people, the Foreign Ministry said. Voter turnout, according to the Permanent Electoral Authority, was 64.72 percent.
The pro-European candidate won a presidential election crucial to the country's orientation in a close race with a hard-line nationalist. The high turnout played a major role in the tense vote, which many observers see as a choice between East and West, the Associated Press notes.
The election came five months after Romania's Constitutional Court annulled last year's presidential election following allegations of Russian interference and a massive social media campaign in favor of far-right independent presidential candidate Calin Georgescu, who won the first round. The Constitutional Court and the Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu from participating in the repeat vote this month.
In the first round of the May 4 election, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), Gheorghe Simion, came in first with almost 41 percent of the vote, while Dan came in second with about 21 percent. A number of polls predicted that Simion, a Eurosceptic and supporter of US President Donald Trump, would maintain this success in the runoff. He promised that if he became president, he would appoint Calin Georgescu as prime minister and stop aid to Ukraine.
Nicusor Dan, 55, has been described as a "brilliant mathematician who rose to fame in the fight against corruption in Bucharest," notes Agence France-Presse. He has been mayor of Bucharest since 2020 and was re-elected in 2024. He founded the "Save Bucharest" association, which later grew into the "Union for the Salvation of Romania" party - currently the second largest opposition party in the country, which he left in 2017 due to disagreements.
During his election campaign, Nikusor Dan declared himself in favor of "a clear orientation to the West", strengthening transatlantic ties, the strategic partnership with the United States, and cooperation between the EU and the United States. Dan supports the initiative to arm Europe and the development of the national military-industrial complex, and advocates for gradually achieving the goal of defense spending of 3.5 percent of GDP. He also pledged support "without discussion" for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The mayor of Bucharest, who ran as an independent candidate, was supported in the second round by three of the four pro-European parties in the Romanian parliament - the National Liberal Party (NLP), the Union for the Salvation of Romania (SSR) and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (DUH). Only the Social Democratic Party (SDP) of former Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu did not announce support for any of the candidates.
Dan said he would like a government of the four pro-Western parties - SSR, NLP, SDP and DUH, and mentioned that he sees the current interim President of Romania, Ilie Bologian, as prime minister. After the election results were announced, he said he intended to start informal discussions on forming a new government as early as Monday and continued to want Bologian as prime minister, although he "cannot promise anything right now". Former Prime Minister Çolacu resigned after the first round of the election, when the coalition candidate failed to reach the runoff.
Romanian media described Nikusor Dan's victory as a "spectacular turnaround" due to his opponent's 20 percentage point lead in the first round. "Romania begins a new stage tomorrow and needs each and every one of you," he said in a speech to thousands of supporters who gathered in central Bucharest to celebrate the victory. They waved Romanian and European flags and chanted "We are here!", "Unity!", "Europe", "Nikusor" and "Russia, don't forget, Romania is not yours", reported Digi 24 TV.
AUR leader Gheorghe Simion admitted his defeat and congratulated his opponent on the victory, saying that this was "the will of the Romanian people". He added that the political struggle was not over at all and "this war is only just beginning".
A number of European leaders welcomed Nikusor Dan's victory. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Moldovan President Maia Sandu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were among the first to congratulate the winner of the election race.
The presidential term is five years and is limited to no more than two consecutive terms. The head of state has a semi-executive role, which includes command of the armed forces and chairmanship of the Supreme National Defense Council, which makes decisions, among other things, on the provision of military assistance. The president also represents Romania at European Union and NATO summits, can veto important EU votes, and appoints the prime minister, top judges, prosecutors, and heads of the secret services.
These are the tenth presidential elections (after the ninth was annulled) since the fall of the communist regime in the country in 1989. Over the past 35 years, Romania has been governed by four regular presidents: Ion Iliescu (two non-consecutive terms), Emil Constantinescu (one term), Traian Băsescu (two consecutive terms), and Klaus Iohannis (two consecutive terms). The acting presidents were Nicolae Vaccaroi (2007), Crin Antonescu (2012), and Ilie Bolojan (2025), whose term will last until a new head of state is appointed.