Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan defeats far-right rival in Romanian presidential election

🇷🇴We will continue our fight for freedom and our great values along with other patriots, sovereignists and conservatives all over the world.

We may have lost a battle, but we will certainly not lose the war.

God bless you all ❤️! pic.twitter.com/rMYeRc2JXj

— 🇷🇴 George Simion 🇲🇩 (@georgesimion) May 18, 2025

But two-term mayor of Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan, eventually prevailed in the final tally, even though Simion garnered more votes in the diaspora region. “We need to build Romania together irrespective of who you voted for,” Dan said upon his victory in the election.

Presidential candidate George Simion, casts his vote next to Calin Georgescu, winner of the first round of last year’s annulled election. (AP Photo)

Simion conceded defeat early on Monday, after claiming he had won the polls and in a post on X said, “We may have lost a battle, but we will certainly not lose the war.”

Congratulations to @NicusorDanRO on his historic victory in Romania’s presidential elections.

For Ukraine—as a neighbour and friend—it is important to have Romania as a reliable partner. And we are confident we will. By working together, we can strengthen both our countries and…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 18, 2025

Dan celebrated his win by stating that voters seeking “profound change, functioning state institutions, less corruption, a prosperous economy and a society of dialogue, not hate, have won”.

The electoral data revealed that more than 11.6 million people exercised their voting rights on Sunday in Romanian presidential elections, and Dan was able to attract the support of more than six million people.

As soon as the results confirmed that Dan had secured a victory with a comfortable majority in the presidential run-off, his supporters cheered and started chanting his name as it was a huge moment for the president-elect and his supporters after months of political turbulence.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Dan on his victory and said “For Ukraine – as a neighbour and friend – it is important to have Romania as a reliable partner.”