Pollsters had Calin Georgescu at around 5%. He finished the first round of Romania’s presidential election with 23%. “Never in our 34 years of democracy have we seen such a surge compared to surveys,” said political commentator Radu Magdin.
With more than 99% of votes counted, the ultranationalist led the field. Georgescu, 62, has no party of his own. He ran largely on TikTok, appeared in person only in selected rural areas and got no coverage in the mainstream media. Late on Sunday he spoke outside his home near Bucharest, because he did not even have a campaign headquarters. “By rekindling the flame of hope, the Romanian people have chosen to no longer kneel, to no longer be invaded, to no longer be humiliated,” he said.
A second surprise behind him
The runner-up was another shock. Elena Lasconi, a centre-right politician who leads the reformist Save Romania Union, edged ahead of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the pre-election favourite. The BBC put her lead at around 2,000 votes. Balkan Insight described it as a few hundred. Either way, she goes to the run-off on 8 December, and Ciolacu, who leads the Social Democrats, tendered his resignation as party leader on Monday morning. George Simion of the nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) came fourth. Experts had pegged Ciolacu and Simion as the favourites.
Turnout was 51%, close to the figure five years ago. More than 800,000 Romanians abroad voted, a record. Parliamentary elections follow on December 1, before the run-off.
What Georgescu stands for
His slogan was “Restore the dignity of the Romanian nation.” He called for fewer imports, strong support for farmers and more domestic food and energy production, and he criticised the EU for not representing Romania’s interests. He has questioned military aid to Ukraine and urged an end to the war. In a 2020 interview, he described Vladimir Putin as one of the world’s few genuine leaders. He once called the NATO missile defence shield at the Deveselu base in southern Romania “a disgrace.” Russian media welcomed his result warmly.
AUR eventually expelled him as too radical, after he praised leaders of the Iron Guard, Romania’s fascist movement during World War Two. Even so, Simion endorsed him late on Sunday and told the 1.3 million voters who backed Simion to support Georgescu in the run-off.
Why it happened
Nobody could point to one cause. “The result of the vote was made possible because there is a significant demand in Romanian society for a politician like Georgescu,” analyst Claudiu Tufis said, adding that firm sociological data on what Romanians want is lacking. The campaign centred on the soaring cost of living, in a country with the EU’s biggest share of people at risk of poverty. Resentment of handouts to Ukrainian refugees also played a part.
Journalist Dan Tapalaga called it “the biggest surprise in all the elections held so far in Romania” and the first where social media outweighed television. “We have seen how TikTok can defeat mainstream media,” he said.
The run-off poses a dilemma for the millions who backed other candidates. Many Social Democrat voters, especially in rural areas, may struggle to back Lasconi, a liberal, progressive figure. The president’s role is largely symbolic by BBC’s account, but carries considerable influence over foreign policy. Balkan Insight adds that the office oversees foreign and defence policy and appoints the prime minister.
Sources
- Far-right candidate takes shock lead in Romania presidential election
- Romania Shaken as Far-Right Candidate Takes Lead in Presidential Election
- Far-right candidate takes shock lead in Romania presidential election
