Romania’s hard-right NATO critic Călin Georgescu and leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu are locked in a tight race after the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, partial results revealed.
According to Reuters, with nearly 93% of votes counted, the 62-year-old Georgescu led with 22%, closely followed by Ciolacu at 21%, indicating a likely face-off between the two in the second round on December 8.
Elena Lasconi, a center-right candidate and the leader of the Save Romania Union (USR), ranked second behind Georgescu among overseas voters. However, with about 50% of ballots from abroad tallied, analysts suggested her margin might not secure her a spot in the runoff.
Leader of center-right opposition Save Romania Union (USR) Elena Lasconi looks on at a poll station during the first round of the presidential election in Bucharest, Romania, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu
Georgescu’s unexpected surge, from polling around 5% to leading the race, is unprecedented in post-communist Romania, political commentator Radu Magdin told Reuters. “Never in our 34 years of democracy have we seen such a surge compared to surveys,” he said.
Romania’s president holds a semi-executive position, overseeing defense spending, a contentious issue amid pressure to meet NATO commitments during Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. president, while managing a significant fiscal deficit.
The election campaign focused on Romania’s high cost of living, with the country facing the EU’s largest share of people at risk of poverty. Ciolacu sought to attract voters with promises of increased spending and no tax hikes, despite overseeing the EU’s largest budget deficit of 8% while offering policy stability amid the ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine.
Romanian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Marcel Ciolacu answers questions from the media before the announcement of the first exit polls during the first round of the presidential election in Bucharest, Romania, November 24, 2024. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. ROMANIA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN ROMANIA
Romania, sharing a 650-km border with Ukraine, has played a critical role in exporting Ukrainian grain via its Black Sea port of Constanța and has provided military aid, including a Patriot air defense system. Despite drone incursions along its border villages, no casualties have been reported.
Georgescu, previously a member of the far-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians, has criticized NATO, calling its missile defense shield in Deveselu a “diplomatic shame.” He also claimed the alliance would not protect member states against Russian aggression. Standing alone outside a residential building near Bucharest on Sunday evening, he declared, “We are strong and brave, many of us voted, even more will do so in the second round.”
Political scientist Sergiu Miscoiu from Babeș-Bolyai University suggested potential Russian interference to boost Georgescu’s candidacy, given his anti-NATO stance and the stark contrast between pre-election polls and actual results. “We cannot rule it out,” he noted.
