Shock as far-right, pro-Russia candidate wins first round of Romanian election
25 November 2024, 11:58
A little-known, far-right populist has shocked Romania this morning, securing the first round in the country’s presidential election - beating the incumbent prime minister.
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Calin Georgescu, who ran independently, will face off against reformist Elena Lasconi in a run-off in two weeks time.
Mr Georgescu, 62, led as the early ballots came in with around 22.95% of the vote.
Ms Lasconi, a progressive from the Save Romania Union party, trailed with 19.17%, beating Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), who stood at 19.15%.
George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) took 13.87%.
This marks the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union that the PSD has failed to get a candidate through to the second round.
Around 52.5% of eligible voters, 9.4 million people, voted in the first round of the election, with the next vote to take place on December 8.
Last night’s results mark a major blow to Romania’s political establishment, with polls failing to show Mr Georgescu would be as successful as he was.
Mr Georgescu won 43.3% of the vote in Romania's large diaspora, compared to Ms Lasconi, who got 26.8%.
Most local surveys predicted he would win less than 10% of the vote.
After casting his ballot on Sunday, Mr Georgescu said in a post on Facebook that he voted "For the unjust, for the humiliated, for those who feel they do not matter and actually matter the most ... the vote is a prayer for the nation."
According to his website, Mr Georgescu holds a doctorate in pedology, a branch of soil science, and held different positions in Romania's environment ministry in the 1990s.
Between 1999 and 2012, he was a representative for Romania on the national committee of the United Nations Environment Programme.
Despite not having a clear political agenda, his videos on TikTok are popular, amassing 1.7 million likes.
The next round of the election is expected to be close, with Ms Lasconi’s anti-corruption agenda resonating with many Romanians.
She told The Associated Press ahead of the vote, that she saw corruption as one of the biggest problems Romania faces and expressed support toward increased defence spending and continued aid to Ukraine.
If she wins the final vote, she will be the first female president in Romania's history.
Romania will also hold parliamentary elections on December 1 that will determine the country's next government and prime minister.
