Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan has won Romania’s presidential runoff, defeating hard-right candidate George Simion in a vote that was closely watched in Bucharest and across Europe because of its implications for the country’s foreign policy and domestic political direction.
Dan, an independent who campaigned as a pro-European reformer, beat Simion after a tense count on Sunday night. The DW report in this packet says near-complete results showed Dan winning with 54% to Simion’s 46%. Simion had led in the first round on May 4, making the final outcome a reversal of the earlier balance.
The result mattered well beyond the personalities involved. Dan has been a firm supporter of Romania’s membership in both the European Union and NATO, and he has argued that backing Ukraine is tied to Romania’s own security. Simion, by contrast, had campaigned on a nationalist platform, criticized what he called absurd EU policies and proposed cutting military aid for Ukraine.
After the result became clear, Simion conceded defeat in a video posted to Facebook, congratulating Dan and saying the will of the Romanian people had prevailed. He had earlier disputed exit polls and claimed without evidence that he had won more votes than his rival. In the same packet, the source says Dan also spoke to Simion supporters and invited them to help build “a good Romania.”
Dan now faces the immediate challenge of turning an electoral victory into a governing arrangement. He has said he wants to form a coalition government that includes the four centrist, pro-European parties in parliament: the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, Save Romania Union and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania. He told Romanian television that coalition talks could take weeks and that he would begin outreach quickly.
The race was also being watched in Kyiv. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Dan and said Romania is important as a reliable neighbor and partner. That reaction reflected the stakes of the election in a region where support for Kyiv and commitment to NATO remain central strategic issues.
Dan’s message after the vote was one of change rather than triumphalism. He said a community of Romanians had won and argued that the country needed a fundamental change in the way political parties function. That framing suggests he will try to turn the presidency into a platform for institutional reform as well as foreign policy continuity.
The event date is 2025-05-18. On that date, the key verified facts were Dan’s runoff victory, Simion’s concession, the pro-EU versus nationalist divide, and the prospect of coalition negotiations that could shape the next government.
The result also tells us something about the balance of fear and hope in Romanian politics. Simion’s campaign drew support from voters angry about the status quo, but Dan’s win shows there is still a substantial electorate willing to back a pro-European, institutional reform message. That split will matter in the weeks ahead, because coalition negotiations will have to bridge not only party interests but also the sharper divide over Europe, defense and the country’s place in the region.
