A far-right candidate is taking a shocking lead in Romania’s presidential election

A right-wing, pro-Russian candidate has taken an unexpected lead in the first round of Romania’s presidential election, with early results putting his pro-European rival in second place.

With 96% of the votes counted, ultranationalist Calin Georgescu has 22%, and Marcel Ciolacu, the prime minister, has 20%, according to the Central Electoral Bureau.

The strong showing of Georgescu, who does not have his own party, and who campaigned mainly on the social media platform TikTok, was the biggest surprise of the election.

He is now in the running to join Ciolacu in the final presidential election on December 8.

That would cause a problem for millions of Romanians who voted for other people.

Another option would be to unite the Social Democrat Ciolacu, a scholar who will continue Romania’s path to the west.

Supporting Georgescu, who has promised Romanian sovereignty, is another way.

Georgescu, who does not belong to a party, has also vowed to end what he calls compliance with the European Union and NATO, especially by supporting Ukraine. He criticized the Nato ballistic missile defense shield in Deveselu, Romania.

The final result of this round will be known later on Monday, when votes from the capital Bucharest and mainland Romania are counted.

The campaign focused on the rising cost of living, Romania has the EU’s largest share of people at risk of poverty.

Polls released earlier on Sunday suggested that Ciolacu had the lead, and indicated that the candidate, Elena Lasconi, would take second place.

Current figures, however, place Lasconi in third place at 18%, and another nationalist, George Simion, in fourth.

Romania’s president has a largely symbolic role but also a significant influence in areas such as foreign policy.

The result was 51%, similar to the figure of five years ago.