Crin Antonescu conceded defeat in the first round of the Romanian presidential election

Crin Antonescu, the candidate of the ruling coalition in the Romanian presidential election, admitted defeat in the first round. This was announced on Monday, May 5, according to the Hotnews portal.

"Life goes on, politics goes on <...> I once again thank the three parties who supported me. The voices have spoken, the citizens have spoken. I think I'll leave this attempt with my head held high. It is necessary to respect the opinion of the people," the politician told reporters.

He also called on his compatriots to vote in the second round, but did not say which of the rivals he preferred.

The second round will be held on May 18.

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Earlier, on May 4, it became known that the candidate and head of the opposition Alliance for the Unification of Romanians party, George Simion, was leading in the first round of the Romanian presidential election with 42.28% of the vote. According to the CEC, the second place was taken by the candidate from the ruling coalition, Crin Antonescu, with 22.53% of the vote. He is followed by Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan with 15.75%, and former Prime Minister Victor Ponta closes the top four with 14.75% of the vote.

On March 15, Bloomberg reported that Simion was allowed to participate in the Romanian presidential election.

The first round of the Romanian presidential election was held on November 24, 2024. According to official sources, Georgescu was in the lead with 22.94% of the vote, but on November 28, the country's Constitutional Court demanded that the Central Election Commission recount the results. They were cancelled on December 6.