POLITICS
Far-right populist takes first round in Romania presidential election
November 25, 2024 - Far-right NATO critic Călin Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round of Romania’s presidential election and will face a runoff against reformist Elena Lasconi on Dec 8.
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With all votes counted, Georgescu had 22.94%, while centre-right contender Lasconi was second with 19.18%.
Lasconi pushed ahead of leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who was a clear favourite to win the first round, propelled by strong support from Romanian voters living abroad.
Romania’s president has a semi-executive role that gives him or her control over defence spending – likely to be a difficult issue as Bucharest comes under pressure to uphold NATO spending goals during Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. president while trying to reduce a heavy fiscal deficit.
Once a member of Romania’s far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, Georgescu left the party in 2022 after he was accused by colleagues of being pro-Russian and critical of NATO, AP said.