Shock Upset in Romania’s Presidential Race as Far-Right, Pro-Russia Candidate Surges Ahead.
In a surprising turn of events, the first round of Romania’s presidential election has seen a far-right, pro-Russia candidate, Calin Georgescu, emerge as the frontrunner, leaving the country’s pro-European prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, out of the running.
With over 99% of the votes counted, the preliminary results show Georgescu, an ultranationalist with no political party, holding a comfortable lead of nearly 350,000 votes over the center-right candidate, Elena Lasconi. The pre-election favorite, Prime Minister Ciolacu, finds himself in a distant third place.
The unexpected surge in support for Georgescu, who campaigned largely on the social media platform TikTok, has been described as unprecedented by political commentator Radu Magdin.
“Never in our 34 years of democracy have we seen such a surge compared to surveys,” he remarked, with earlier polls placing Georgescu at around 5% of the vote.
Georgescu, who has sworn to end what he calls Romania’s “subservience” to the European Union and NATO, especially in its support of Ukraine, has condemned the NATO ballistic missile defense shield in Deveselu, Romania.
The contest now appears to be shaping up for a final run-off on December 8th between Georgescu and Lasconi, who is more than a thousand votes ahead of Ciolacu in the latest count. This development would effectively knock the pro-Western Ciolacu out of the race, potentially setting the stage for a significant shift in Romania’s foreign policy direction.
The election has been largely dominated by concerns over the soaring cost of living, with Romania having the EU’s biggest share of people at risk of poverty.
Georgescu’s nationalist and anti-establishment rhetoric appears to have resonated with a significant portion of the electorate, catching the political establishment off guard.
