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Bucharest Mayor and independent presidential candidate Nicusor Dan and his wife Mirabela Gradinaru are seen after voting at a polling station in Fagaras, central Romania on May 18. (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
By Mitchell McCluskey and Sophie Tanno, CNN
(CNN) — Romania’s pro-European Union, centrist presidential candidate Nicușor Dan won the country’s election Sunday, defeating his ultranationalist rival in a shocking upset.
With 100% of the votes counted, the centrist candidate won nearly 54% of the ballots cast, a clear win over hard-right candidate George Simion, who is a fan of US President Donald Trump.
Simion, who opposes providing military aid to Ukraine and is critical of the EU, looked on track to win the election after he swept the first round on May 4. But Dan gained ground after trouncing Simion in a televised debate.
While addressing a crowd of his jubilant supporters on Sunday, Dan said that the vote proved the “incredible power of the Romanian society,” according to Reuters. “Elections are about community. In today’s elections, a community of Romanians who want a profound change in Romania won,” the 55-year-old mayor said.
He also encouraged his supporters to “have patience,” saying a “difficult period lies ahead, but necessary in order to balance the economy of this country, to build the foundations of a healthy society.”
Dan, who is currently the mayor of the capital Bucharest, is a strong supporter of Romania’s NATO membership and has pledged to continue providing aid to Ukraine, which he sees as key to Romania’s own security against the threat from Russia. He also campaigned on a promise to crack down on corruption.
“I feel relieved. I am happy. I feel hopeful,” voter Alina Enache, 42, told Reuters. “I’m happy that we’re not heading towards the extremist way.”
Simion conceded defeat in a video posted to X on Sunday night, despite calling himself the “new president” earlier in the day. But he also vowed to continue to fight alongside the “sovereigntist patriots and conservatives around the world.”
He still captured the support of Romania’s diaspora, one of the largest of any country in the world. About 60% of the diaspora voted for Simion in the first round. Since then, he spent a lot of time outside Romania, traveling to Austria, Italy, Poland, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, in an effort to win over voters abroad.
“It was an honor for me to represent our movement in this battle. We lost this battle, but we didn’t and will never lose our war,” Simion said.
The election comes five months after the result of the original vote, which saw former far-right outsider Calin Georgescu surge in popularity, was annulled over allegations of Russian interference.
Georgescu was later banned from this month’s rerun after being charged with various crimes, including founding a fascist group.
More than 10 million Romanians cast their vote in Sunday’s election, which was widely seen as a choice between East and West and a litmus test for the rise of Trump-style nationalism in Europe.
An array of European leaders congratulated Dan on his victory, including France’s Emmanuel Macron, Poland’s Donald Tusk and Moldova’s Maia Sandu.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also applauded Dan’s “historic victory” and Romania’s role as a “reliable partner” to Ukraine.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her eagerness to work with Dan as he becomes the country’s new leader.
“The Romanian people have turned out massively to the polls. They have chosen the promise of an open, prosperous Romania in a strong Europe. Together let’s deliver on that promise,” von der Leyen said on X.
On Sunday, Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Andrei Tarnea said that the “hallmarks of Russian interference” were seen in the election.
“A viral campaign of fake news on Telegram and other social media platforms is aimed to influence the electoral process. This was expected and authorities debunked the fake news,” Tarnea said.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova responded by questioning the integrity of the election. “It’s impossible to interfere in something like that — only to get smeared in it. So don’t smear anyone else with your electoral mess,” she asserted.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added on Monday that “the elections were strange, to say the least” and criticized the earlier removal of far-right candidate Georgescu.
CNN’s Lauren Kent contributed to this report.
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