Romania presidential election: pro-Russian Georgescu surprisingly ahead for runoff

Brussels – The populist and pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu somewhat unexpectedly came first In the presidential elections in Romania, overtaking incumbent social democratic premier Ion-Marcel Ciolacu and liberal challenger Elena-Valerica Lasconi, who are in a head-to-head contest for second place. But since no one won an absolute majority of preferences, it will go to a run-off vote in early December, a week after the legislative elections to renew Parliament.

The voting numbers

With just over 52 percent turnout (about 9.4 million voters), the first round of the Romanian presidential elections on Sunday (Nov. 24) saw the populist candidate Călin Georgescu surprisingly come out on top, taking home 22.95 percent of the vote (over 2.1 million preferences) according to data provided by the Permanent Election Committee in Bucharest, with 99.98 percent of the votes counted.

After him were the Liberal candidate Elena-Valerica Lasconi (19.17 percent and more than 1.7 million votes) and incumbent Prime Minister Ion-Marcel Ciolacu (with 19.15 percent and about 2,000 votes less than Lasconi). Given the marginal gap, the two are playing for second place and, consequently, for a spot in the run-off. George-Nicolae Simion, leader of AUR, another pro-Russian and populist radical-right party, came in fourth.

It is an unexpected result given that all the polls on the eve of the vote gave the pro-European premier Ciolacu – a member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) that has ruled the country since 2021 – as the favorite and Simion as the likely challenger in the run-off. Now, Georgescu will face either Ciolacu or Lasconi (leader of the liberal USR party) in the second round set for Dec. 8. The run-off will come exactly one week after the parliamentary elections, scheduled for Dec. 1, in which Romanians will be called upon to renew the Bucharest Parliament.

Who is Georgescu

Georgescu, 62, is running as an independent, but this is not his first time on the Romanian political scene. Holding a doctorate in soil science (which qualified him for university teaching) and having had a career as a consultant, he held several positions in the Ministry of Environment in the 1990s before representing Bucharest in the UN’s Environmental Program (UNEP) between 1999 and 2012.

Until 2022, he was also a member of AUR, the nationalist, populist, and pro-Russian party co-founded by Simion (who continues to advocate Romania’s unification with Moldova), until being expelled for publicly expressing sympathy for Ion Antonescu, the dictator and collaborationist of the Third Reich, who held the Balkan country in his grip between 1940 and 1944, which is why the Romanian prosecutor general accused the 62-year-old of promoting “people responsible for genocide.”

Georgescu has been campaigning on TikTok, questioning support for Ukraine and Bucharest’s membership in NATO. In an interview a couple of years ago, he referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as one of the few “real leaders” in the world. He has also said he admires the “negotiating” skills of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

The presidential term in Romania lasts five years and is renewable only once. Therefore, incumbent President Klaus Iohannis (elected in 2014 and confirmed in 2019) must step aside. The head of state’s most important powers include national security, foreign policy, and appointments within the judiciary branch​.