After months of chaos, Romanians prepare to elect president

Romanians go to the polls on May 18 to finally elect a new president, after months of unprecedented political chaos. The previous election was annulled and the leading presidential candidate was barred from running. The second round pits nationalist George Simion against the centrist candidate, Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan.

Simion was running as a replacement for Calin Georgescu, who was barred from running after winning the first round of voting in November. Romanian authorities annulled the results amid allegations of Russian interference in the election campaign. Before the new elections were held, Simion based his campaign on Georgescu's success, winning about 41 percent of the support in the first round of voting on May 4. Dan was far behind with almost 21 percent.

Simion has been ahead in most polls conducted since then, although more recent polls show the candidates very close to each other. In terms of powers, the president appoints the prime minister, with the approval of parliament, and represents Romania at NATO and EU summits. He can also use the country's veto in the EU.

Who is George Simion?

Simion promises to completely overturn Romanian politics, taking a Eurosceptic stance within the European Union and ending support for Ukraine.

“Our position is… neutrality, non-escalation, non-supply of weapons, and perfect alignment with the Trump administration’s policy,” he said on May 8.

Simion has also emphasized ideological alignment with the “MAGA movement” and posted a photo of himself online wearing a red baseball cap with the “Trump Save America” logo. This political goodwill may be mutual, as Washington sharply criticized the decision to cancel the first round of the election.

Simion has also angered Romania's neighbors. He has hinted at territorial claims against Ukraine and called for unification with Moldova, leading to his being banned from entering both countries. On May 19, a Moldovan court is expected to review his detention, which followed his arrest at a protest in the capital, Chisinau, in 2015.

A few years earlier, in 2011, he had a run-in with the law in his home country, receiving a fine and a 6-month ban from entering football stadiums for racist chants during a Romania-Bosnia and Herzegovina match. In December 2019, he co-founded the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) party, which is now the second largest group in parliament. The party's website says it stands for the Christian faith, low taxes, family values ​​and national sovereignty.

In 2023, former Moldovan Defense Minister Anatol Salaru alleged that Simion had secretly met with an agent of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in Ukraine. Simion has denied both the incident and the broader allegation that he is pro-Russian. He recently lost a court case in which he sued Salaru over the accusation. He has also said he will appoint Georgescu as prime minister. Georgescu, 63, has called the 38-year-old Simion “my new protégé.”

Who is the other candidate?

Nicusor Dan is not a member of any party, he won the race to become mayor of Bucharest as an independent and is now trying to do the same for the presidency. The 55-year-old entered politics in 2015, promising to fight corruption in the capital.

A mathematician, he received his doctorate from the Sorbonne University in Paris in 1998, before returning to work at the Institute of Mathematics in Romania. It was during this time that he began to engage as an activist on issues related to illegal construction, urban planning and heritage protection.

After two failed attempts to become mayor of Bucharest, Dan was elected in 2020 and then re-elected in 2024. His decision to run for president caused surprise, considering he had just won a second term in office in the capital. Dan explained the decision by referring to the political crisis that was engulfing Romania.

Dan said that the fight against corruption and interest groups would be a major issue for his presidency. Regarding foreign policy, Dan has spoken of maintaining close relations with the United States, while maintaining a pro-EU stance.

Speaking after the first round of voting on May 4, Dan said the next round would be “a debate between a pro-Western direction for Romania and an anti-Western direction.” It’s a message that has so far resonated with educated voters in big cities, leaving him facing a major challenge in the second round. He has had the opportunity to address voters during three televised debates this week, in which Simion did not participate./ REL