Romanian election surprise: Pro-neutral candidate leads first round voting
First-round voting in Romania brings unexpected win for hard-right independent candidate. Center-right opposition moves to second place while current PMʼs party shows poor results
In a non-standard voting day on 11/25‚ Calin Georgescu got almost 23% of votes shocking many political experts (who expected different results). The independent hard-right politician beat Elena Lasconi from Save Romania Union who received about 19% of votes
Current Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu — who polls showed as front-runner — didnt make it to run-off; he will keep PM position till next monthʼs parliament vote but quit party leadership. The ruling coalition partner also missed their chance for the final round
There is no East or West. There is only Romania and the peace of our people
Georgescu ran his campaign using social-media platform Tik-Tok: his stance includes keeping Romania neutral and questioning NATO defense commitments. The 62-year old candidate speaks positive about Russia which made markets nervous — euro bonds dropped 2 cents after voting
Romania — sharing 650-km border with Ukraine and helping export grain through its Black Sea port — faces important choices ahead. The next president will lead armed forces and make key appointments: including judges prosecutors and intelligence chiefs
- Support weapon shipments to Ukraine
- Work with NATO allies
- Fight high living costs
- Deal with poverty risks
The final presidential vote happens on 12/8‚ while parliament elections come even earlier on 12/1. Neither mainstream party has backed any run-off candidate yet‚ making the outcome hard-to-predict
