Calin Georgescu Takes the Lead in Romania’s Presidential Race with 22% of Votes

Bucharest (Eurotoday) – Calin Georgescu leads Romania’s presidential race with 22%, followed by PM Marcel Ciolacu at 21%. 

A far-right candidate, Calin Georgescu, took the lead in Romania’s presidential election and will likely face leftist PM Marcel Ciolacu in a runoff in two weeks. Calin Georgescu, who ran independently, topped the polls with about 22% of the vote after about 93% of votes were counted, while PM Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party, or PSD, followed at 21%. Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party, or USR, stood at approximately 18%, and George Simion, the head of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, got almost 14%.

According to the Central Election Bureau, after polls closed, 9.4 million people—around 52.4% of eligible voters—had cast votes. The president serves a five-year term and holds significant decision-making powers in areas such as national security, foreign policy, and judicial appointments in the European Union and NATO member countries. A second round will take place on 8 December 2024, as no candidate secured an absolute majority in the first round.

It will be the ninth presidential election held in post-revolution Romania. As the Romanian Constitution allows a president to be re-elected only once, the incumbent, Klaus Iohannis—first elected in 2014 and then re-elected in 2019—is not eligible for re-election. His second (and final) term will officially conclude in December 2024.

As reported by sources, Calin Georgescu ran independently and was not widely known. He outperformed most local surveys, sending shockwaves through Romania’s political establishment as he climbed to first place. After casting his ballot, Georgescu stated, “For the unjust, for the humiliated, for those who feel they do not matter and matter the most … the vote is a prayer for the nation.”

Romania shares a 650-km border with Ukraine, and since Russia struck Kyiv in 2022, it has facilitated the export of millions of tons of grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta and provided military aid, including support with a Patriot air defense battery.