Nicușor Dan won the Romanian presidential election: a record turnout was recorded

Triumph of democracy: Nicușor Dan wins Romanian presidential election with an impressive margin

According to the results after processing 100% of ballots, Nicușor Dan secured a convincing victory, receiving more than 6.1 million votes (53.60%), while his opponent from the far-right "Alliance for the Unification of Romanians" (AUR) party, George Simion, garnered more than 5.3 million votes (46.40%). The gap between the candidates amounted to an impressive 800 thousand votes.

"Tomorrow Romania begins a new stage and needs each one of you," Nicușor Dan declared in his victory speech, addressing the citizens of the country.

George Simion gracefully acknowledged his defeat, publishing a video message on social media: "I would like to congratulate my opponent Nicușor Dan, he won the election. This was the will of the Romanian people. I want to thank all the more than 5 million Romanians who placed their trust in me." This statement was particularly significant against the backdrop of earlier calls for protests against alleged fraud.

After the announcement of the results, the streets of Bucharest filled with jubilant supporters of Dan. According to Romanian publication Hotnews, people chanted the name of the new president and shouted slogans, including "Russia, don't forget, Romania is not yours!", which vividly reflects the geopolitical sentiments of a significant portion of Romanian society.

It's worth noting that in the first round, the far-right candidate George Simion led with 40.96% of the votes. Before the second round, the politician, whom many analysts accuse of having ties to Russia, made a sharp statement, proposing to require Ukraine to reimburse the Romanian Patriot air defense system received by the country, which provoked mixed reactions.

The current election was marked by a record turnout - more than 11.6 million Romanian citizens (64.72%) participated in the voting, which is the highest figure since the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu's communist regime in 1989. This is approximately 11 percentage points higher than in the first round held on May 4. For comparison, in the annulled elections at the end of 2024, the turnout was 52.55%, and in the previous elections in 2019 - 47.66% in the first round and 49.87% in the second.

It's important to emphasize that the concluded presidential election was a repeat. The scheduled elections were interrupted at the end of last year by a decision of Romania's Constitutional Court after nationalist candidate Călin Georgescu received the highest number of votes in the first round on November 24, 2024. The official reason for annulling the results was accusations of illegal financing of Georgescu's campaign, hacker attacks on digital infrastructure, and alleged Russian interference, although the latter was not proven.

Nicușor Dan has already received congratulations from key international leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In an interview with Digi 24 TV channel, the newly elected president announced his immediate plans: "On Monday, I will begin negotiations with the four pro-European parliamentary parties - the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union, and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania - on forming a new government."

Thus, Nicușor Dan became the fifth president of Romania after the fall of Ceaușescu's regime in 1989. His victory marks the continuation of the country's pro-European course and reflects the desire of most Romanians for stable democratic development within the European community.