Pro-Russian candidate leads first round in Romania presidential race

Kalin Georgescu, an anti-Western nationalist politician is going through to the second round of elections in Romania on 8 December.

Yelena Laskoni, a pro-Ukrainian, pro-Western liberal candidate, is also in the second round of elections with %19.17 votes.

The first round of elections was held in Romania, as a result of which the incumbent President Ciolacu was defeated with 19.15% of votes.

The far-right pro-Russian candidate Georgescu led Romania’s presidential election first round with 22.95% of votes.

“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,” BBC reported.

Georgescu, an independent candidate, has pledged to end what he sees as excessive dependence on the EU and NATO.

He expressed strong opposition to the country’s support for Ukraine and called for an end to military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Georgescu also criticized NATO’s missile defense system in Romania as a “shame of diplomacy” and questioned the alliance’s ability to protect its members from Russian aggression.

Romania shares a 610-kilometer border with Ukraine, which has become increasingly significant amid the ongoing war sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russian drones have fallen on Romanian territory, particularly in areas near the Danube, following drone strikes targeting Ukrainian ports, prompting Romania to enhance its border security measures.

NATO’s missile defense system in Romania, specifically the Aegis Ashore site located at Deveselu, is designed to protect against short- and medium-range ballistic missile threats, primarily from Russia.

Georgescu’s political career has been marked by controversy; he has previously been associated with the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) and has faced backlash for praising historical figures linked to Romania’s fascist past.

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