The nationalist Georgescu surprises as the clear winner of the first round in the Romanian presidential elections

Prime Minister Ciolacu and the conservative Lasconi compete for second place in a very close battle with only 900 votes difference

MADRID, 25 (EUROPA PRESS)

The independent nationalist candidate Calin Georgescu has surprised by ensuring continuity in the second round of the Romanian presidential elections on December 8, accumulating more than two million votes and securing an advantage of at least 300,000 over the next place, with more of 99 percent of the vote counted, according to information from the electoral body.

At this time it is still unknown who will face Georgescu and, after the closing of the last polls in the diaspora, the conservative candidate Elena Lasconi has managed to reduce her distance from Ciolacu, from 500,000 with whom she started to just 900 votes.

Turnout across the country and in the Romanian diaspora has been 52.5 percent, slightly above the 51.2 percent who voted in the previous presidential election in 2019.

Georgescu, who has given the absolute surprise against some polls that did not place him even among the top three places, has so far received almost 23 percent of the votes, almost six percentage points more than the next candidate.

According to analysts from the Romanian network Antena24, Georgescu’s candidacy has been fueled by strong discontent with traditional politics. His message, resounding on issues of sovereignty and defense of national interests, resonated with a significant part of the Romanian electorate. In addition, Georgescu has been the figure of a massive campaign on social networks, especially the TikTok platform.

Romania, it should be remembered, is going through a crucial moment, as it faces economic and social challenges, while the president-elect will have to manage an increasingly tense geopolitical context in Eastern Europe, marked by the war in Ukraine and growing tensions with Moscow.

Less clear is Georgescu’s alleged connection with Russia, although the 62-year-old engineer has always been portrayed positively by the Kremlin-funded Russian media outlets Sputnik and Russia Today. The candidate even declared in April that “Russia’s wisdom gives Romania an opportunity because, at this moment, Romania is not prepared for anything, neither diplomatically nor strategically.”

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