RIGHT-WING NATIONALIST George Simion has secured a decisive win in the first round of Romania’s repeated presidential election.

The 38-year-old leader of the Alliance for the Unity Romanian party earned 40.5% of the vote yesterday. Bucharest’s mayor Nicusor Dan and the coalition’s joint candidate Crin Antonescu were trailing with 20.9% and 20.3% respectively. 

Antonescu conceded defeat, saying he believes it is an “irreversible result”. Eleven candidates vied for the presidency and a runoff will be held on 18 May between the top two candidates.

By the time polls closed last night, about 9.57 million people — or 53.2% of eligible voters — had cast their ballots, according to the Central Election Bureau, with 973,000 votes cast at polling stations set up in other countries.

The rerun was held after a top court voided the previous election in which the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped the first round, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied.

In a pre-recorded speech aired after polls closed, Simion said that despite many obstacles, Romanians “have risen up” and “we are approaching an exceptional result.”

“I am here to restore constitutional order,” said Simion, who came fourth in last year’s race and later backed Georgescu.

“I want democracy, I want normalcy, and I have a single objective: to give back to the Romanian people what was taken from them and to place at the centre of decision-making the ordinary, honest, dignified people.”

The presidential role carries a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy.

The decision to annul the election and the ban on Georgescu’s candidacy drew criticism from US vice president JD Vance, Elon Musk and Russia, which publicly supported his candidacy in the rerun.