Hard-right populist takes shock lead in Romania’s presidential vote

NATO critic Calin Georgescu on track to face pro-European Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in run-off vote next month.

A hard-right populist known for his opposition to the European Union and NATO has surged into the lead in Romania’s presidential election in a shock result that throws the country’s pro-Western outlook into doubt.

With 97 percent of ballots counted, Calin Georgescu had just more than 22 percent of the vote, slightly ahead of centre-left Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu with about 20 percent, partial results from the Central Electoral Bureau showed on Sunday.

Elena Lasconi of the centre-right Save Romania Union party was running third with nearly 19 percent, followed by George Simion of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians with 14 percent.

The partial results put Georgescu, 62, on track to face off against Ciolacu in a run-off vote on December 8.

The outcome comes as a major upset as Georgescu, a relatively unknown figure who held a number of positions in Romania’s Ministry of Environment during the 1990s, had attracted only about 5 percent support in opinion polls ahead of the election.