Romania's political landscape is reeling after a little-known, far-right populist secured the first round in the presidential election, electoral data showed Monday, going from an obscure candidate to beating the incumbent prime minister. Calin Georgescu, a pro-Russian candidate who ran independently, will face off against reformist Elena Lasconi in a runoff in two weeks, per the AP and the BBC.
- Results: Georgescu, 62, was ahead after nearly all ballots were counted with around 23% of the vote. Lasconi of the progressive Save Romania Union party, or USR, followed with 19.17%. She beat by a slim margin incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party, or PSD, who stood at 19.15%. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, took 13.8%.
- Milestone: It is the first time in Romania's 35-year post-communist history for the PSD not to have a candidate in the second round of a presidential race, serving a huge blow to the country's most powerful party and underscoring voters' anti-establishment sentiment.