Romania's pro-West candidate Nicușor Dan wins presidential election in dramatic comeback

[BeyondGeography]

Source: Euronews

Independent candidate Nicușor Dan has won the Romanian presidential election rerun thriller, which transfixed and polarised the country on Sunday.

After 97% of votes were counted, Dan maintained an advantage of 54% over his nationalist competitor George Simion, who won 45% of voters' support — a difference of around 900,000 votes, which, with only half a million ballots to count, has become impossible to overcome.

The late-night cliffhanger came after 11 million Romanians voted at a 64% turnout in high-stakes repeat of the annulled presidential vote in December 2024.

Earlier on Sunday, domestic exit polls published by Euronews Romania projected Dan had won about 54% of the vote on Sunday, while Simion hovered around 45% -- which turned out to be an accurate prediction. As things stand, the country on NATO's eastern flank chose the pro-EU, pro-NATO candidate in a massive turnout marked by fear and resentment, overturning Simion’s lead in the first round.

Read more: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/05/18/nicusor-dan-leading-in-romanias-crucial-presidential-elections-exit-polls-project

[pandr32]

1. Happy news.

Take that, you right-wing nazi shitbags. The world does NOT reflect your views.

[Lovie777]

2. Good...............

[Du916]

18. It's ironic

That Romania is more democratic than the United States with it autocratic orange shitstain President and fascist administration.

[highplainsdem]

3. This is very good news.

And badly needed today...

[RainCaster]

4. Fantastic!

I wasn't sure this would happen, but I'm so glad it did.

[Leghorn21]

5. Just fabulous, FABULOUS!!

[LeftishBrit]

6. Oh Thank God

I wasn't expecting this, and am so relieved!

[WinstonSmith4740]

7. Another Trump inspired election!

Let's give the man credit where credit is due. People around the world are so horrified by what they saw happen here, and how fast, they're not giving their fascists a prayer of getting near power.
Thanks, Don! You did that!

[Amaryllis]

8. That makes three, with Canada and Australia!

[groundloop]

9. But that's just the popular vote count.... what about their Electoral College?

Oh, wait.... we're the only country with that gift to the right wing.

[regnaD kciN]

11. Well, their Trumpist candidate is claiming victory and "rigged election," of course...

...and I'm wondering if we'll see a repeat of January 6th, this time featuring "little green men" with Russian accents.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Luckily, Romania doesn't have a direct border with Russia, so infiltrating large numbers of "little green men"

will be far harder for Putin than it was for eastern Ukraine. I'm sure there'll be plenty of fuckery on social media, though. I hope Romania is doing the maximum possible for cybersecurity.

[Dem4life1970]

10. See what happens when you DON'T have voter suppression?

The right candidate has all of their votes counted and gets to take office.

[Hassler]

12. Apparently everyone can kick the Nazi to the curb

Except us

[augyboston]

14. Canada, Autrailia, Romania and massive protests against Orban..

This is the sound of democracy making a comeback around the world.

The United States is next. Even the ultra conservative Supreme Court is standing up to the wanna be dictator.

The mid-terms can't get here fast enough!

[riversedge]

15. "The presidents of both Moldova and Ukraine congratulated him on his victory."

Liberal mayor Dan beats nationalist in tense race for Romanian presidency

The presidents of both Moldova and Ukraine congratulated him on his victory.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crk2xxzxkzxo.amp

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Defeated Romanian ultranationalist 'will ask court to annul election'

The defeated ultranationalist candidate in Romania’s presidential election rerun has said he will ask the country’s top court to annul the vote on the same grounds – foreign interference – that led to the original ballot being cancelled last year.

George Simion, who was defeated in Sunday’s runoff by the liberal mayor of Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan, said on Tuesday he would ask the constitutional court to void the ballot “for the same reasons they annulled the elections” last year.
...
“Just as Călin Georgescu was removed and the elections were annulled, we will challenge the election of Nicușor Dan for exactly the same reasons,” Simion, an EU-critical, Trump-admiring former soccer ultra, said in a statement to local media.

“Why? Because there was vote buying,” said Simion, who formally conceded to Dan on Sunday night after first claiming to have won. “Because dead people voted on 18 May, and no calculation in the world can show us over 11.5 million Romanians voted.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/20/defeated-romanian-ultranationalist-says-he-will-ask-court-to-annul-presidential-election

[MarineCombatEngineer]

17. Straight out of the repuke playbook.

He must have consulted Been A Dick Donald who emailed him the Guide Book to Sedition and Treason.