After winning a lot of votes in the first round of Romania's presidential election again, the far-right nationalist George Simion will compete against a pro-Western reformist in an important second election in two weeks. This election could change the political direction of the country, which is a member of the European Union and NATO.

Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), significantly surpassed his opponents in the polls, securing 40.96% of the vote, based on official electoral figures compiled after the tabulation of all ballots from Sunday's election; the reformist Bucharest Mayor, Nicusor Dan, finished second with 20.99%.

The runoff election, scheduled for May 18, will pit two staunchly anti-establishment candidates against each other. Despite their shared opposition to Romania's traditional political class, against whom they built their careers by vocally protesting, they hold fundamentally opposing ideologies.

Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former anti-corruption activist who started the Save Romania Union party (USR) in 2016, campaigned on a pro-EU platform and told the media early Monday that "a difficult second round is coming, against a candidate who wants to isolate the country."

He characterised the process as a necessary democratic undertaking for Romania, asserting that it would not devolve into a personal dispute but rather a contest between Romania's orientation towards the West and a contrary stance. He urged all Romanians to engage in this struggle, expressing confidence in their ultimate success.

Crin Antonescu, the candidate for the governing coalition, finished in third place with 20.07% of the votes. Victor Ponta, who was prime minister from 2012 to 2015, was behind him with 13%. Elena Lasconi, who was second in the first vote last year, only got about 2.6%.

In response to Antonescu’s inadequate performance, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu declared his resignation on Monday.

According to figures from the electoral authorities, the ultimate turnout was 9.57 million individuals, representing 53.2% of those eligible to vote.

Last year’s election was invalidated after the far-right challenger Calin Georgescu secured the most votes in the initial round, amidst claims of electoral irregularities and Russian intervention, which Moscow has refuted.

Months after a nullified election triggered the nation's most severe political crisis in decades, the repeat vote was held.

Simion, who had secured fourth place in the previous year's race and subsequently endorsed Georgescu, declared in a prerecorded address broadcast after Sunday's polls concluded that his purpose was "to reinstate constitutional order."

"I want democracy and normalcy," he said, "and my only goal is to give back to the Romanian people what was taken from them and to put ordinary, honest, and respected people at the center of decisions."

Following her disappointing performance in Sunday’s election, Lasconi announced on Monday her resignation as leader of the USR party, stating, “I exerted every effort in battling a decayed, corrupt system that has held us in bondage for 35 years.”

She said our efforts should focus on supporting a pro-European direction and speeding up changes to a system that has shown itself to be ineffective and not good for citizens.

The presidential mandate extends for five years and grants substantial authority in matters of national security and foreign policy formulation.

According to Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, the result of Sunday's election is likely to precipitate a "crisis" among the mainstream political groups, with the subsequent runoff presenting a contest between pro-Western perspectives and what he termed "more conservative, patriotic messaging."

“We'll see two candidates critical of the current political system: one who is critical of the establishment but holds a more conservative perspective on Romania's future direction, and another who is both critical of the establishment and pro-Western,” he informed The Associated Press. “Crucially, this signifies a comprehensive anti-establishment shift across the political spectrum.”

In a speech acknowledging his loss, the governing coalition’s candidate, Antonescu, distanced himself and withheld his endorsement from either candidate in the runoff, stating, “I was not affiliated with the coalition.”

"I shared my plans and ideas, and some people voted for me. I want them to choose for themselves which of the other candidates is most similar to my ideas," he said. "I hope everyone who voted for me today will come and vote again."

Distrust in the authorities persists widely, particularly among those who cast their ballots for Georgescu, a substantial voting bloc that Simion has endeavored to cultivate.

Simion stated that his far-right nationalist AUR party is completely in line with the MAGA movement. He said they are taking advantage of the increasing populism in Europe after U.S. President Donald Trump returned to politics. AUR became well-known in the 2020 parliamentary election. They say they support 'family, nation, faith, and freedom,' and their support has since doubled.

“The sentiment against the established order is not akin to an anarchic movement, but is directed at those individuals who have brought about the nation's decline,” Simion stated to the AP days prior to the rerun. “We no longer function as a democratic state.”