Presidential candidate Nicusor Dan celebrates on the street after a second round of presidential election rework in Bucharest, Romania on Sunday. vadim ghirda/ap Closed subtitles
Pro-European Union candidate Nicusor Dan won Romania's closely watched presidential runoff, along with a tough nationalist, almost complete election data show. Sunday’s massive turnout played a key role in the tense election, a geopolitical choice that many consider to be between the East or the West.
The game brought the leader George Simion to the 38-year-old leader of the tough league, who is the unity of Romanians or Aur, with the current mayor of Bucharest City Dan. It was held months after the elections before the cancellation, and Romania has been in its worst political crisis for decades.
According to official data, after calculating 10.7 million votes of 11.6 million votes, Dan led the way at 54.19%, while Simion's rate was 45.81%. In the first round of votes on May 4, Simion won almost twice the vote for DAN, and many local surveys predicted that he would secure the presidency.
But in a swing of a way that deviates from the EU's more skeptical approach, Romania joined the EU in 2007, with Dan claiming nearly 900,000 votes to defeat his opponent firmly in the final round.
Thousands of people gathered outside Dan headquarters near Bucharest City Hall, waiting for the final result, shouting "Nicos!" Whenever his leadership progresses, his leadership expands, and the crowds, many people waving European flags, cheer.
When the vote was closed at 9 p.m. local time (1800 GMT), official election data showed voter turnout was 64%. About 1.64 million Romanians abroad were voted at the specially established polling stations, 660,000 more than the first round. In the first round of the match on May 4, the final turnout was 53% of qualified voters.
Dan told the media that “the election is not about politicians” but about the community, and in Sunday’s vote, “a Romanian wins the victory, and this community hopes for a profound change in Romania.”
"When Romania goes through tough times, let's remember the power of this Romanian society," he said. "There is another community that has lost its elections today. One community is angry at the way it is doing politics in Romania now."
Presidential candidate Nicusor Dan exited the voting cabin before the country's second round of votes before the country's second round of the presidential election was redone on Sunday in Fagaras, Romania. Eduard Vinatoru/ap Closed subtitles
Shortly after 11 p.m., Dan appeared on the balcony of the headquarters, waving at his thousands of supporters who gathered on the boulevard in central Bucharest, causing the ecstasy of the crowd.
During the raucous rally, Ruxandra Gheorghiu told the Associated Press that she was overwhelmed by the results.
"I'm so scared that our European troops are near the end...we're still in Europe and we're not fighting for this right," she said. "I can't explain this feeling right now."
Romania's political landscape was overturned last year, when the Supreme Court, the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu, ranked first in the first round of polls after Moscow denied allegations of election violations and Russian intervention.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sent his "warmest congratulations" to Dan, noting that Romanians voted "a large-scale". "They chose a strong European public, prosperous Romania commitment. Let's deliver on that promise."
Dan is a 55-year-old mathematician who is a civic activist fighting illegal real estate projects. In 2026, he formed the Reformists Save Romanian Coalition Party, but later left and became independent of the pro-European Union ticket to reaffirm the Western tie, support for Ukraine and fiscal reform.
Standing on the steps of Romania's huge communist-era parliamentary building after the polls ended, Simion predicted the victory and said Georgescu was "should be the president" before last year's general election was abolished.
He also called for vigilance about election fraud, but said he was satisfied with the voting behavior.
Years of popular corruption and growing anger at Romanian political institutions have sparked support for anti-establishment and tough figures, reflecting a broader model throughout Europe. Both Simion and Dan made their political professions rail the old political class in Romania.
Cristian Andrei, a political adviser to Bucharest, told the Associated Press that Romanians “reject hatred and reactionary politics and provide their country with a pro-Western direction.”
“It was a victory for optimistic Romania, but a large percentage of voters were upset about the direction of the country,” he said. “Romania stood out from this election with a whole new political landscape where older parties were challenged to adapt to new reality.”
Under the leadership of the Sunday vote, Simon's remarks raised some concerns that if he lost, he would not respect the result. In the afternoon, he told reporters that if the election is "free and fair", his team is confident in "landslide victory."
However, he repeated the charges that Romanian referendums near Moldova are irregular and said his party members will vote in parallel after the polls are over. He told the Associated Press that so far the ballots have been carried out correctly.
Adrian Nadin, 51, who supported Georgescu in the last election, said he chose Simion. "A part of Romania prefers conservatism," he said.
"It's very important because the next president will be our image in Europe and (deciding) how Romania will develop in the next five years," said Luminita Petrache, a 32-year-old financial crime analyst. "I hope the change in Romania is good."
The president was elected for five years and has significant decision-making power in national security and foreign policy. The winner of Sunday's game will be charged with nominating a new prime minister after Marcel Ciolacu's resignation and his league candidate failed to advance to runoff.
After finishing fourth in the match cancelled last year, Simion supports Georgescu, who was banned from election redoing in March. Then, Simion became the first round on May 4, running forward after becoming the standard driver of the hard right hand.
Simion, a former activist who united with neighboring Moldova, said he focused on reform: cutting the traditional tape festival and reducing bureaucracy and taxation. Despite this, he insisted that restoring democracy was his priority and returned the "will of the people."
His Aur Party said it represents "family, nation, faith and freedom" and stands out in the 2020 parliamentary elections. Since then, it has become the second largest party in the Romanian legislature.