2025 Romanian Presidential Election: Live Updates, News & Final Results

The 2025 Presidential Election in Romania took place on May 18th and was considered one of the most important presidential elections – if not the most important – in Romania’s post-communist history.

At stake was the country’s continuing on its pro-European path or switching to a more isolationist approach and a potential pro-Russian direction.

Now that the elections are over, we know that Romanians chose the former. Underdog Nicusor Dan managed a surprising yet solid victory, and you can find all the updates I published throughout the day below.

But until then, here are the official results of the 2025 Presidential Election:

• Nicusor Dan: 53.60%
• George Simion: 46.40%

64.72% of Romanians voted – a record number since the year 2,000. Out of the 11,641,866 voters, 1,645,458 were from abroad – another record number.

It’s worth mentioning that the diaspora voted in favor of George Simion (he received 55,86% of the votes), but this was not enough to tip the results in his favor.

Fortunately, the hard-right candidate, George Simion, admitted defeat after initially claiming victory and raising concerns of potential protests throughout the country. He congratulated his opponent in a short message posted on Facebook.

It was a big day for Romania, and the people living here – as well as abroad – showed that they can get mobilized when it matters. The country is going through some very difficult times, though, and the new president has a very tough challenge ahead. But, as the results show, a clear majority believes that he has what it takes to navigate through these waters and put Romania on the right track again.

With this in mind, you can read below to see how the day unfolded and also find out more about the two candidates.

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Quick overview

The two candidates in the final round of the 2025 Presidential Election were:

• George Simion, who went in with the first chance, according to the polls and results of the first round of the elections. He is considered a hard-right candidate, with an anti-EU message and alleged ties to Russia and other nationalist leaders in Europe. You can learn everything about George Simion here.
• Nicușor Dan is the pro-European, independent candidate and current mayor of Bucharest. Coming into the elections as the underdog, he secured victory thanks to the massive turnout and support from the pro-EU, democratic crowd. You can learn everything about Nicușor Dan here.

For context, in the first round, George Simion received 40,96% of the votes, while Nicuşor Dan only got 20,99%, barely making it into the second round.

Important links: I will keep these posted, although the live feeds are now focusing on other events. Check out the official live turnout here. Check out various charts and comparisons on G4 Media. Live TV feeds (in Romanian, on YouTube): Euronews Romania, ProTV, Antena 3, Digi TV.

Live updates

Check out my latest updates below, with the most recent posted at the top:

10:55 PM: After a long, tiresome Sunday, it’s time for me to take a break. Thank you for being here with me for the duration of the elections, thank you for supporting a small, independent website.

Here are the latest numbers: Nicusor Dan: 54.49%. George Simion: 45.51%.

In diaspora, after counting over 300,000 of the 1.6 million votes, George Simion is the winner with 55.65% of the votes, vs 44.35% for Nicusor Dan.

All in all, it’s very unlikely that the results will change drastically. Nicusor Dan is Romania’s new president!

10:30 PM: I think that it is safe to say that Romania has a new president: Nicusor Dan.

The results are surprising, but more than welcome, as the country goes through some very difficult times and the additional challenges brought by an isolationist president wouldn’t have helped at all.

With 8.86 million votes counted out of the total 11.6 million, Nicusor Dan has a comfortable lead: 53,68% compared to Simion’s 46,32%.

10:15 PM: The difference between the two candidates is increasing as more votes are counted and votes from the larger cities come in as well. Here are the current results, after 7.93 million votes have been officially counted:

Important: These numbers don’t include diaspora results. Over 1.64 million Romanians have voted outside of the country’s borders – some 650,000 more than in the first round. Still, in the first round, George Simion received almost 61% of the votes, so the final numbers could still change, even though some analysts anticipate that the additional diaspora voters cast their vote for Nicusor Dan.

9:50 PM: Nicusor Dan is getting close to a surprising win that will keep Romania on its pro-European trajectory. Here are the latest results, based on almost 3 million votes counted, of the 11.6 million:

• George Simion: 50.05%
• Nicusor Dan: 49.95%

I have to repeat, all these early results come from the smaller voting sites, usually rural areas, where George Simion was expected to win (by an even larger margin, I would say).

9:25 PM: First official results are in! After counting 12.72% of the voting sections (which are not representative to the final results), the standings are:

• George Simion: 52.88%
• Nicusor Dan: 47.12%

While interesting to see, these are results from the smaller voting sites, usually in the rural areas, where counting votes is faster.

9:20 PM: A bit under 65% of Romanians voted today in one of the most massive turnouts since the year 2,000.

Each candidate claimed victory. Here is what they said:

Nicusor Dan: “Today, a community of Romanians who want profound change has won – a community that wants to reduce corruption, a community that seeks a society based on dialogue, not messages of hatred […] We are living a moment of hope. […] I ask you to be patient in the period ahead. A difficult period is coming, as we lay the foundations for a healthy society. […] I want to assure all of you – both those who voted for me and those who did not – that I will do everything in my power to ensure the Romanian state finally serves the citizens of this country.
Starting tomorrow, all of us, together, must begin the reconstruction of Romania.”

George Simion: “We are the clear winners of these elections. We claim victory in the name of the Romanian people. […] The parallel counting will ensure that any potential fraud is identified. We thank the institutions for their professionalism and impartiality. […] I thank the Romanians in the diaspora who traveled hundreds of kilometers to stand by their country. Thank you! […] Today, we saw extraordinary mobilization. Romanians came to vote not just with their stamp, but with their hearts. I thank everyone who waited in line, who defended every vote. It was a day of national courage, in which we began to regain our democracy and the respect we deserve. […] I thank those who, in the country or abroad, chant my name, and the millions who made possible a victory – by our estimates, over 400,000 votes more than our competitor – but this is not my victory. It is the victory of the Romanian people, humiliated, robbed, and lied to so many times until now. It is the victory of a man who should have been President of Romania – it is Călin Georgescu’s victory.”

9:10 PM: Both candidates claimed victory, despite the exit poll results. Nationalist leader George Simion said that, based on his and his party’s calculations, they have over 400,000 votes ahead of the competitor. These are only estimates, as official counting has just begun.

I will come back shorty with quotes from each of the presidential candidates’ speeches.

9:00 PM: First results are in – unofficial, exit polls for the moment. The numbers are surprising, but we still need to take them with a grain of salt, as they have been wrong in the past. However, we have exit polls from reputable sources, listed below (based on 7:00 PM data):

• Avangarde: 54.9% Nicusor Dan – 45.1% George Simion
• CURS: 54.1% Nicusor Dan – 45.9% George Simion

IMPORTANT: These exit polls DO NOT include diaspora votes (which play an important role, with over 1.6 million voters who will probably decide the outcome of the elections).

8:15 PM: As the number of voters starts to seriously dip, we still have almost 11.5 million voters today, in what is a highly atypical election: we had the highest presence ever from diaspora (over 1.6 million people) and the urban voters greatly outnumbered rural ones (63% vs 37%).

We will most likely have a bit over 12 million voters – which even the most optimist did not anticipate.

But with a country divided, as I said before, neither George Simion, nor Nicusor Dan can be overly confident. The battle is still on, and it will probably be so until the final vote is counted.

Stay tuned at 9PM, when I will post the first update, sharing official exit poll results and the first official numbers.

7:45 PM: Breaking news! Roman MFA Spokesperson Andrei Tarneaian denounced on X a viral fake news campaign posted on Telegram and Social Media, allegedly with Russian ties. Here is what he wrote (you can read his post here):

“During Romania’s ongoing presidential elections yet again we see the hallmarks of Russian interference. A viral campaign of fake news on Telegram & other social media platforms is aimed to influence the electoral process. This was expected & 🇷🇴 authorities debunked the fake news.”

No details were given about this viral campaign though. (Update: News about this in Romanian language here on YouTube).

7:40 PM: Over 11 million Romanians cast their vote today – an impressive 61.50% of the total, with a bit over an hour left. This is the highest turnout since 2009.

Some additional incidents are being reported, including the fact that some voting sites in both Romania and abroad are left without the required papers for voting. However, all people will cast their vote as soon as the situation is solved (and I can only hope it will be solved ASAP), as the law says that whoever is already waiting in line to vote, will be allowed to vote even after 9 PM when voting stops.

While this is definitely unpleasant and shouldn’t have happened, it’s probably because of the huge turnout, unanticipated in many of the foreign countries. But I repeat: there are no excuses and authorities should’ve been prepared.

7:30 PM: As the election day draws to a close, there are a few important things to keep in mind:

Some incidents were reported in voting sites in both Romania and foreign countries. Police had to intervene in Italy, France, Germany and the UK to prevent violent behavior from the supporters of one of the candidates who were trying to prevent others from entering the voting sites (presumably because they were going to vote with the other candidate).

This has been reported by USR vicepresident Dan Enache, but also the independent news website G4 Media.

But apart from these truly unfortunate, but few, events, the elections ran smoothly. Various political leaders – including former candidate Victor Ponta – are starting to encourage Romanians everywhere to be respectful with both the winners and the losers.

7:15 PM: An impressive number of Romanians have voted in today’s elections: 60% or 10.8 million voters, out of which 1,5 million are from the diaspora. In the first round, the total number was way under: 53%.

The battle is definitely on and the big turnout shows that the anticipated, clear winner, might be up for a battle – especially since Nicusor Dan said that if 11 million Romanians cast their vote, he has a chance of winning. And we’re surely going to reach that number.

Was he right? Time will soon tell – voting ends at 9 PM and I will be the one telling you the first estimates. Until then, people here are still voting for their future.

I will post another update soon, with various other bits of information, but I wanted to write about this important milestone quickly. Check out the graph below, though (via G4 Media):

The dark blue line shows today’s turnout compared to the first round. As you can see, it’s pretty much even at the moment, while right until now, the numbers were much higher. It’s interesting to see this – I personally believe that the outcome of today’s elections will be decided in the last minute.

2:15 PM: Almost 39% of Romanians have voted, which is an impressive 10% more than in the first round.

George Simion claims that the lists of votes include 1.5 million deceased people and asks for support in avoiding fraud (according to G4 Media). His opponents call this disinformation. However, these statements from the AUR leader might show that the race is tighter than it was initially believed. But these are just opinions and/or estimates. The actual counting of the votes, which will begin at 9 PM, is what will matter and decide the winner.

The reality is that big lines are starting to form at some voting sites, especially in the Regie area in Bucharest (where students live) and in nearby villages around Bucharest. The Romanians are voting for their future!

12:00 PM: Interesting stats below:

The most interesting numbers are those of the voters from Urban areas (almost 67%). Traditionally, rural voters dominated the charts in the first part of the day. But even this says little about the potential winner.

If the current influx of voters continues for the rest of the day, analysts consider that we’ll have a 65% turnout: 11.7 million voters. But these are just estimates and only time will tell how the reality stands.

11:50 AM: The massive turnout continues, with no signs of it slowing down. 24.50% of Romanians have voted, almost 5% more than in the first round. Diaspora voters are close to 900,000 at the moment, compared to the 960,000 total in the first round.

This shows that the people living here understand the importance of today’s vote. And even though pro-European candidate Nicusor Dan said that he needs at least 11 million people to have a shot at winning, we won’t know how these extra people are voting until their votes are numbered.

One thing is clear: the more people cast their votes, the clearer the decision of the majority will be.

10:10 AM: I am preparing to go and cast my vote, together with my family. Before that, some important numbers: almost 15% of the Romanians have voted already, around 4% more than in the first round. This could be a sign that the battle might be closer than some have anticipated.

8:50 AM: Both candidates cast their votes. George Simion voted first, at around 8AM, together with Calin Georgescu, Simion’s proposal for Prime Minister, and former Presidential Candidate in the now-annulled elections in November 2024.

The two voted together with their wives and were escorted by bodyguards. In short statements, they used the same rhetoric as during the campaign, talking about religion, nationalism and voting against “abuses and poverty”. They did not answer any questions asked by the journalists.

Nicusor Dan voted around 8:40 AM in his hometown, together with his partner. He didn’t have bodyguards and spent a bit of time talking with his supporters and hugging people. He also used the same rhetoric as during his campaign, claiming that he voted for change and prosperity, for the hard-working people and for continuing Romania’s European journey.

7:20 AM: 5% of the Romanians have voted already, 20 minutes after voting began in the country (those living abroad have started voting earlier): over 745,000 people voted abroad (almost double than in the first round) out of the 900,000 total voters.

7:00 AM: Massive turnout expected at the elections that have just started. Twice as many Romanians living abroad have already voted, compared to the first round.

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Don’t forget to check back constantly, as I will publish more updates throughout the day, including estimated results at 9 PM (Romania’s time), when voting ends and we’ll have the first results.