Centrist Nicușor Dan on track to beat hard-right George Simion in Romanian election – POLITICO

Big challenges

Dan’s victory, if confirmed by official results, will calm fears in Brussels and other European capitals that Romania — a country of 19 million people that is a key EU and NATO member — would veer hard to the right.

The election was closely watched in Washington, where Trump administration officials were supportive of the country’s potential right-wing turn. U.S. Vice President JD Vance criticized Romanian authorities in February for canceling the first attempt at holding the presidential election last November.

Romania’s top court decided to annul that election and order a rerun over allegations that the candidate who won the first round, ultranationalist Călin Georgescu, benefited from an illegal online campaign, with potential Russian support. Georgescu and the Russian government have denied the accusations.

Still, Romania’s election authorities barred Georgescu from running again in this election. 

Dan’s rival, Simion, won the first round of the presidential election against competition from 10 other candidates by aligning himself closely with Georgescu and condemning the election cancellation as illegal.

In his first remarks after polls shut, Simion echoed Trump’s belligerent reaction to being defeated by Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 U.S. presidential election: “It’s the victory of the Romanian people, who was humiliated, stolen and lied to so many times, until now. It’s the victory of a man who should have been Romania’s president, it’s Călin Georgescu’s victory.”

Dan’s immediate challenge as president will be to secure a coalition of pro-European parties in the parliament and name a prime minister who will be tasked with implementing tough economic measures to rein in the country’s 9 percent budget deficit.

This story is being updated.