“A far-right populist surprises in the presidential elections in Romania, going to enter the second round”, AP notes about Călin Georgescu, stating that he will probably face Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in the second round. It is “a result that shook the political landscape of the country”, AP adds.
VIDEO Călin Georgescu, the 'shock' of the elections: 'Today, the Romanian people shouted: 'peace!'; It is not a cry of joy, but one of suffering'
“A little-known far-right populist won the presidential elections in Romania, electoral data show, and will probably face the left-wing Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in the second round, in two weeks, a result that shook the country's political landscape .
Georgescu, 62 years old, ran as an independent candidate and was not very well known. He surpassed most of the local polls, causing a shock wave in the Romanian political environment while climbing to the top”, AP writes.
Note the victory of a pro-Russian candidate
France 24 notes that “a pro-Russian candidate and the prime minister will face each other in the second round” of the presidential elections in Romania and mentions that Georgescu owes his score to the viral campaign on TikTok.
“A pro-Russian candidate pulled off a surprise in the first round of the presidential elections in Romania. On Sunday, November 24, Călin Georgescu ranked first in the first round of the presidential elections in Romania, ahead of pro-European Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.
After counting 98.66% of the ballots, Călin Georgescu obtained 22.59% of the votes, compared to 19.55% for Marcel Ciolacu. If this trend continues, the two men will face each other in a second round of voting scheduled for December 8, meanwhile the parliamentary elections will take place in a week.
“Călin Georgescu owes his score to a TikTok campaign that went viral, focused on the need to stop aid to Ukraine,” states france24.com.
“Shock in Romania: Călin Georgescu, the far-right critic of NATO, takes the lead in the presidential elections”, headlined The Guardian after Sunday's vote.
“Georgescu, who called NATO's anti-ballistic missile shield a “disgrace of diplomacy”, will probably face in the second round the leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu
A little-known far-right populist took the lead in Romania's presidential election on Sunday, according to election data, and is likely to face left-wing Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in a runoff two weeks from now, a result that has shaken the political landscape of the country”, mentions The Guardian.
“A far-right candidate shockingly leads in the presidential election in Romania”, notes the BBC.
“the far-right, pro-Russian party took a surprising lead in the first round of the Romanian presidential election, with preliminary results placing its pro-European rival in second place.
The solid result of Georgescu, who does not have his own party and campaigned largely on the social media platform TikTok, was the biggest surprise of the election. He is now about to face Ciolacu in the final for the presidency on December 8.
This would represent a dilemma for the millions of Romanians who voted for other candidates.
One option would be to support the populist social-democrat Ciolacu, an establishment figure who would continue Romania's pro-Western path.
The support of Georgescu, who promised Romania's sovereignty, is the alternative. Georgescu, who does not belong to any party, has also vowed to end what he calls servility towards the European Union and NATO, particularly with regard to support for Ukraine. He condemned NATO's anti-missile ballistic shield at Deveselu”, comments bbc.com.
