Pro-West independent candidate Nicusor Dan staged a dramatic comeback on Sunday to win the Romanian presidential elections with a firm 54% of the votes. His contender, hard-right candidate George Simion, with 46% of votes, at first refused to concede in an unprecedented political thriller which transfixed and polarised the country on NATO's eastern flank, but then relented, congratulating Dan on his victory late on Sunday night. "It's a bitter feeling, but this election is just the beginning," Simion said, congratulating his opponent. Romanians have chosen to continue their current pro-Western course by turning out in record numbers to vote for the unassuming mayor of Bucharest and against the nationalist doctrines represented by Simion and his ally Calin Georgescu. But the deep divisions in fractured Romanian society, represented by the small difference in the votes, mean that future president Dan faces a massive challenge to reunite the country and address the looming economic turmoil gripping Romania. But Romania's choice brings a substantial sigh of relief for the EU, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, at a crucial time for all, also because president-elect Dan will work with the current pro-West majority in parliament. Campaigning on an anti-corruption and reformist platform, pledging honesty and decency, Dan has not only beaten the hard-right Simion but also the entire Romanian political establishment in the two rounds of the presidential re-run after the Constitutional Court annulled the previous presidential vote held in November and December 2024, setting off an unprecedented, destabilizing political crisis. Dan's campaign also received a boost in the only national presidential debate hosted by Euronews Romania, which was seen as the turning point of the political battle for the presidency. Addressing the jubilant crowds waving Romanian and EU flags in central Bucharest, Dan proclaimed that "from tomorrow, Romania begins a new stage." His message was clear and not addressed to the political parties but to the civil society of Romania, while calling for national reconciliation. "We need specialists for public policies, the civil society and new people in politics," Dan announced. "My message to those who lost today, our full respect to those who had another option. We have to build Romania together, regardless of political options, with the Romanians in Romania, diaspora, (Republic of) Moldova and the Romanians in the neighboring countries," Dan said. At the same time, his supporters chanted "unity". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Dan and said Ukraine is "looking forward to further developing the strategic partnership between our friendly nations for the sake of their stability, security and prosperity." French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, and other leaders also congratulated Dan. A record turnout of 11 million Romanians, or 64%, in Romania and the diaspora, marked by fear and resentment, has turned the page on a six-month-long political turmoil sparked by the annulled presidential elections. Earlier on Sunday, Simion declared himself "Romania's new president" at his party's gathering in the Romanian parliament in Bucharest before the official count began. "A new era is born tonight. It is time for an epoch in which Romania be democratic, Christian and rich. So help us God," Simion announced. "We are the clear winners of these elections. We claim the victory in the name of the Romanian people. It is the victory of the humiliated Romanian people," he said. "It does not matter which side each of us has been in these elections, this is democracy, we now need to shake hands." Simion also thanked the Romanian diaspora, whom he visited extensively over the last days of the presidential campaign earlier this week. "I owe today's victory to the Romanian diaspora. You Romanian who left abroad, you must know that only with you we can make Romania great among the states of the free world." "I don't promise miracles, but I promise to be among you," he concluded. Simion then left the stage to the sound of Village People's "YMCA," one of US President Donald Trump's favorite tracks on his 2024 campaign trail. In the last hours of the voting, Romania's foreign, interior and defense ministries denounced what they called "Russian interference," warning voters about a fake news campaign rolled out on Telegram, TikTok and other social media platforms. The Romanian foreign ministry spokesperson Andrei Tarnea said on X Sunday that "once again we see the distinctive signs of Russian interference (...) to influence the electoral process. "This was expected," he added. In a coordinated move, the three ministries revealed that a fake video published on Sunday "falsely claims that French troops in Romania secretly wear Romanian gendarmerie uniforms to intervene internally," has been linked directly to Russia. Telegram founder Pavel Durov revealed that he refused a request from "a Western country", which he didn't name, to "silence" the conservative voices in Romania. "Telegram will not restrict the liberties of Romanian users, nor will it block their political channels", Durov said. — Euronews
