Romania: Long-Shot Presidential Candidates Head to Runoff

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Facts

  • Independent presidential candidate Călin Georgescu will face off against former TV anchor Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union (USR) in a surprising runoff matchup — the first in its post-communist era in which neither of the two largest parties had a candidate.[1][2]
  • Georgescu took the lead in the first round with 23% of the vote, and Lasconi defeated incumbent prime minister and pre-ballot front-runner, Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democrats, by a few thousand votes, 19.17% to 19.15%.[3][4]
  • According to Romania's Central Election Bureau, voter turnout in the Sunday election was at 52.5% — or about 9.4M people. The runoff election is scheduled for Dec. 8.[5][6]
  • Georgescu and Lasconi were arguably the most anti-West, anti-EU, and the most pro-West, pro-EU candidates of the lot, respectively, in a country that shares a border with Ukraine and has been strongly pro-West under Pres. Klaus Iohannis.[1][2]
  • Under the country's constitution, the winner will serve a five-year term and wield significant decision-making powers — including overseeing defense and foreign policy and appointing the prime minister.[5][7]
  • Romanians will also head to polls Dec. 1 — this time for parliamentary elections. Given that front-runner Georgescu has no political affiliation, it's unclear whom his voters will support.[3][8]

Sources: [1]Euractiv, [2]The European Conservative, [3]Associated Press, [4]BBC News, [5]Sky News, [6]The Guardian, [7]Balkan Insight and [8]Romania Insider.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by RT International. Romanians are fed up with bureaucrats in Bucharest dragging their country into the war in Ukraine, which only serves the interests of NATO, the EU, and the US military-industrial complex. That's precisely why mainstream candidates failed to make it into the runoff and why Georgescu will win the presidency.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by European Pravda. Don't take for granted that those who voted for Georgescu did so because they wanted Romania to stop supporting Ukraine. His support comes from people dissatisfied with mainstream parties who chose him because he ran as an independent candidate. There's no reason to panic, as Lasconi will defeat Georgescu in the runoff.