ELECTION DAY: Update

Nation-wide exit polls have the centrist Nicuşor Dan, mayor of Bucharest, ahead of the hard-right leader of the AUR party, George Simion, in Romania’s presidential runoff

Newsroom, 18.05.2025, 21:23

ELECTION DAY The pro-western centrist Nicuşor Dan, the current mayor of Bucharest, apparently won the largest number of votes in Sunday’s presidential elections in Romania, according to exit polls conducted nationwide by accredited polling companies. He has 54.1% of the votes according to CURS, while AVANGARDE has him at 54.9%.

Nicuşor Dan has outperformed the hard-right leader of the AUR party, George Simion, who has won 45.9% according to CURS, and 45.1% according to AVANGARDE.

While waiting for the official vote count, both candidates claimed victory. Following Sunday’s election, a community that wants a profound change in Romania won, Nicuşor Dan said.

George Simion also proclaimed himself the winner ‘on behalf of the Romanian people, who decided that they want a real change’. These exit polls, however, do not take into account the votes cast abroad, where a record number of around 1,650,000 of voters was reported, which is unprecedented in post-communist Romania.

A total of about 65% of the almost 18 million Romanian registered voters went to the polls. Almost 19,000 polling stations were opened in the country, while Romanians abroad voted in 965 stations. Voters in Romania only vote on Sunday, whereas those abroad could vote over three days – Friday, Saturday and Sunday. According to the Permanent Electoral Authority, 87 accredited foreign journalists and 159 international observers have monitored the election.