Bucharest, 19 May 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Pro-European Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan is set to become Romania's new president, after nearly all the votes counted by early Monday showed him ahead of his far-right challenger George Simion in Sunday's run-off presidential election.

With votes counted from more than 99% of polling stations, the electoral authority in Bucharest said that Dan had secured approximately 54.1% of the vote, while Simion trailed with around 45.9%.

"There will be a difficult period ahead, necessary for economic rebalancing to lay the foundations of a healthy society. Please have hope and patience," Dan told supporters after exit polls showed him leading.

Earlier, Simion had declared himself the winner, well before the final count and against forecasts.

"We are the clear winners of this election. We claim this victory on behalf of the Romanian people," Simion said on live television in front of his supporters in Bucharest after the polls closed.

He made similar statements on social media platforms Facebook and X.

Before the election, Simion had accused authorities of attempting election fraud, though he provided no evidence.

The news portal G4media.ro reported, citing unnamed sources within Simion's AUR party, that plans were under way to contest the election if their candidate was officially declared the loser.

The presidential election is a re-run of last November's vote. Back then, pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu won the first round, having campaigned largely on the online platform TikTok.

However, shortly before the scheduled run-off vote, the Constitutional Court annulled the first round due to irregularities in campaign financing, and banned Georgescu from running again.

The election is seen as important to the European Union and Ukraine, which has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for more than three years. The Romanian president holds strong influence over foreign and security policy.

Simion, who is critical of support for Ukraine, had finished around 20 percentage points ahead of Dan in the first round of voting on March 4 but failed to secure an absolute majority. Dan, aligned with the EU's position, backs Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Photo: epa