George Simion, a critic of the EU who has been banned from entering Ukraine, won the first round of the rerun of the Romanian presidential election on Sunday.
With more than 93% of the ballots counted, Simion, the leader of the right-wing Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), received 40.26% of the votes, according to the news website G4 Media.
Former senator Crin Antonescu and Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, both known for pro-EU views, each received a little over 20% of the votes.
The vote took place after Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of the election held in November, in which independent right-wing candidate Calin Georgescu received 23% of the votes. The court cited “irregularities” in Georgescu’s campaign, as well as intelligence reports claiming Russian meddling. Moscow rejected the claims of interference as “anti-Russia hysteria.”
In March, Georgescu was barred by the Central Electoral Bureau from running again, citing his alleged “anti-democratic” and “extremist” stance, as well as a failure to comply with electoral procedures. On Sunday, Georgescu and Simion arrived at a polling station together. “We are here with a single mission: to restore constitutional order and democracy,” Simion told reporters.
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