Hard-right nationalist George Simion emerged as the clear frontrunner in Sunday’s first round of Romania’s presidential election redo, according to nearly complete official results. The vote, held months after a previous election was annulled, followed a period of deep political turmoil in the EU and NATO member state. Simion, 38, who leads the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), secured a commanding 40.5% of the vote, with 99% of ballots counted, putting him well ahead of his rivals.

Far behind in second place was Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan with 20.89%, and in third place the governing coalition’s joint candidate, Crin Antonescu, with 20.34%. He conceded defeat after midnight, saying he believes it’s an “irreversible result.”

Eleven candidates vied for the presidency and a runoff will be held on May 18 between the top two candidates. By the time polls closed, 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.

Election redo held after vote annulled

The rerun was held after Romania’s political landscape was shaken last year when 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 prerecorded 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 center of decision-making the ordinary, honest, dignified people.”

As in many EU countries, antiestablishment sentiment is running high in Romania, fueled by high inflation and cost of living, a large budget deficit and a sluggish economy. Observers say the malaise has bolstered support for nationalist and far-right figures like Georgescu, who is under investigation and barred from the rerun.

Georgescu, who appeared alongside Simion at a polling station on Sunday in the capital, Bucharest, called the vote rerun “a fraud orchestrated by those who have made deceit the only state policy,” but said he was there to “acknowledge the power of democracy, the power of the vote that frightens the system, that terrifies the system.”

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

Widespread distrust in the authorities

Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former anti-corruption activist who founded the Save Romania Union party (USR) in 2016, ran on a pro-EU “Honest Romania” ticket.

“It is about the trust of Romanians and our partners in democracy ... and in my opinion, it is a new beginning that we all have a responsibility to do correctly,” Dan said after the polls closed.

Antonescu, 65, a veteran centrist who campaigned on retaining Romania’s pro-Western orientation, said Sunday that he voted for “a united Romania, for a strong Romania, for a dignified Romania.”

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“Democracy means a battle, sometimes taken to the maximum, but it is a battle of ideas,” he said after voting had closed. “Let’s not forget that we are fellow citizens, sons of the same country, and we must move forward together.”

Victor Ponta, who was prime minister from 2012-2015, also pushed a MAGA-style “Romania First” campaign and boasted of having close ties to the Trump administration, stands in fourth place with 14.3% of the vote.

Elena Lasconi, who came second in last year’s first round ballot and participated in the rerun, only obtained about 2.6% of the vote. She positioned herself as a staunchly pro-Western, anti-system candidate, railing against what she described as a corrupt political class.

Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, said Simion’s clear victory indicates a complete “reshape” of the political spectrum, and that if Dan reaches the runoff, “it will be a clear signal that the political class and the political establishment have lost.”

Crossroads moment for Romania

Distrust in the authorities remains widespread, especially for those who voted for Georgescu, a sizable electorate that Simion has sought to tap into.

“The antiestablishment sentiment is not like an anarchic movement, but is against the people who destroyed this country,” Simion told The Associated Press days before the rerun. “We are not a democratic state anymore.”