It was held months after the cancelation of the previous election plunged Romania into its worst political crisis in decades.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Nicușor Dan on his victory in the Romanian presidential election and invited him to come to Ukraine. Zelenskyy

The Kremlin on Monday described Romania's presidential election as "strange", saying the pro-Russian candidate who won an aborted vote last year had been unfairly disqualified.

BUCHAREST, Romania — The pro-European Union candidate in Romania’s tense presidential runoff has taken a lead in the polls, preliminary electoral data shows, in a closely watched vote against a hard-right nationalist that could determine the geopolitical direction of the NATO member country.

Romania’s assets staged a relief rally after a centrist candidate defeated his nationalist opponent in the presidential election, with investor focus now shifting to how quickly a new government can fix the state’s finances.

But Romania's growth has steadily slowed since a post-pandemic bounce in 2021, and the European Commission forecasts its budget deficit at 8.6% this year and 8.4% in 2026, well above the government's 7% 2025 target outlined in a seven-year EU-approved plan.

As of midnight on May 18th Romania’s election authorities reported he had taken 54% of the vote to Mr Simion’s 46%. The turnout was a record for a Romanian presidential election. The country’s enormous diaspora,

Nicușor Dan swept to victory in Romania's presidential election on Sunday, defeating far-right nationalist rival George Simion with nearly 54 percent of the vote. Dan, 55 the centrist mayor of Bucharest and former mathematician who campaigned for an "honest" Romania,