Overview

• Călin Georgescu, an independent far-right candidate, secured 22.94% of the vote in Romania's first-round presidential election, surpassing expectations and pre-election polls.
• Elena Lasconi, a pro-Western center-right candidate, narrowly edged out Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to advance to the runoff, marking the first time since 1989 that the Social Democratic Party lacks a candidate in the final round.
• Georgescu’s campaign leveraged TikTok to appeal to younger voters, contributing to his unexpected success, despite controversies over his anti-Western, antisemitic, and nationalist rhetoric.
• Lasconi has positioned herself as a staunch supporter of NATO and Ukraine, contrasting sharply with Georgescu’s calls for closer ties with Russia and criticism of Romania’s aid to Ukraine.
• The December 8 runoff is being framed as a pivotal contest between Romania’s alignment with the West and Georgescu’s vision of a more Russia-friendly trajectory.