Far-right candidate takes shock lead in Romania presidential election

A far-right, pro-Russia candidate has taken a surprise lead in the first round of Romania's presidential election, with preliminary results putting his pro-Europe rival in close second.

With 96% of votes counted, ultranationalist Calin Georgescu was on 22%, and Marcel Ciolacu, the prime minister, had 20%, according to the Central Electoral Bureau.

The strong showing of Georgescu, who has no party of his own, and campaigned largely on the social media platform TikTok, came as the biggest surprise of the election.

He is now on track to join Ciolacu in a final run-off for the presidency on 8 December.

That would pose a dilemma for the millions of Romanians who voted for other candidates.

One option would be to rally round populist Social Democrat Ciolacu, an establishment figure who would continue Romania’s pro-western path.

Backing Georgescu, who has promised to Romania’s sovereignty, is the alternative.

Georgescu, who belongs to no party, has also sworn to end what he calls subservience to the European Union and Nato, especially on support for Ukraine. He has condemned the Nato ballistic missile defence shield in Deveselu, Romania.

The final result of this round will be known later on Monday, when votes from the capital Bucharest and from the large Romanian diaspora are counted.

Campaigning focused largely on the soaring cost of living, with Romania having the EU's biggest share of people at risk of poverty.

Exit polls released earlier on Sunday suggested that Ciolacu had a commanding lead, and projected the centre-right candidate, Elena Lasconi, would take second place.

The current tally, however, puts Lasconi in third on 18%, and another nationalist, George Simion, in fourth.

The president in Romania has a largely symbolic role but considerable influence on areas such as foreign policy.

Turnout was 51%, similar to the figure five years ago.