What’s at Stake in Romania’s 2025 Elections?

Romania will hold its rescheduled two-round presidential elections on May 4 and 18 after the country’s highest court annulled the original November 2024 vote due to evidence of a Russian interference campaign. Far-right, pro-Russia candidate Călin Georgescu won the first round of the election, but reports that he had generated substantial support from a Russia-backed effort on TikTok raised concerns about election integrity, leading to the court’s ruling. The controversy is part of a troubling trend regarding Russia’s role in mounting disinformation campaigns to influence election outcomes.

What might the new results mean for Romania’s democracy?

Experts broadly agree that Romania is facing a pivotal political moment characterized by large-scale protests and growing public dissatisfaction. In February, the ruling pro-European coalition government thinly survived a no-confidence vote filed by several far-right parties disgruntled about the election cancellation. Despite the failed motion, President Klaus Iohannis resigned amid impeachment efforts by opposition lawmakers who argued his term, which was extended due to the delayed election, was illegal.

According to Romania’s Constitution, the president serves as a liaison between the branches of government as well as between the government and the public. With parliamentary approval, the president appoints the prime minister, who holds greater authority in shaping public and foreign policy.

After the allegations of Russian interference in November’s election—accusations Moscow denied—Romania’s Constitutional Court barred Georgescu from running in May. This has become a point of contention for many voters, sparking widespread protests and drawing criticism from President Donald Trump’s administration, with Vice President JD Vance saying the evidence of Russian interference was “flimsy.” 

The allegations tie Romania to the wider issue of Russia’s attempts to influence other Eastern European elections. Countries including Georgia and Moldova have also been targets of Russian disinformation campaigns in the past year, coinciding with critical votes on those nations’ paths to European Union (EU) accession, security experts have said.

Russian disinformation has targeted Romania in several instances, even before the current election cycle. Due to the Romanian public’s strong anti-Russian sentiment, these efforts have primarily sought to sow discord between Romania and its neighbors. One notable controversy centered on military buildups by Romania and other EU nations in the Black Sea, with Russia accusing them of escalating security threats in the region.

What’s at stake for Romania’s foreign relations?

Romania has long positioned itself as an EU and NATO ally. Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine—which Romania shares a 381-mile-long border—Bucharest has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters, providing humanitarian aid and military equipment, as well as welcoming approximately 180,000 refugees as of early 2025. 

What started off as fervent enthusiasm to aid the war effort, however, has waned. Growing nationalist sentiment has brought domestic issues to the forefront, leading Romanian public opinion away from helping Ukraine. According to a February 2024 survey, less than 20 percent of Romanians think that their country should continue providing military support to Ukraine. Likewise, party leaders decided against sending Romanian peacekeeping troops to Ukraine earlier this year.

Who are the main candidates?

George Simion. Head of the far-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR), Simion led the polls in the weeks leading up to the election. His party endorses the controversial restoration of a “Greater Romania,” which involves expanding the country to its pre–World War II borders, including areas in Bulgaria and Ukraine, as well as all of Moldova. Simion has described his party as “Trumpist,” while his opponents call him extremist. With Georgescu barred from running, many of his supporters are rallying around Simion, who has attempted to distance himself from the pro-Russia controversy by taking a more aggressive stance, saying Russia “is one of the biggest threats for European states.” 

Experts say that, if elected, Simion’s policies and rhetoric will stand at odds with the EU, as well as with Moldova and Ukraine—two countries he is banned from entering. His far-right stances could further threaten the ideological unity of the EU and NATO, hindering the coalition’s ability to respond to security threats coming from Russia, and bringing the latter closer to its strategic goal of Western fragmentation.

Victor Ponta. The former prime minister joined the race in March, seeking to rally Georgescu’s base. He polls closely behind Simion. After a scandal forced his resignation in 2015, Ponta rebranded himself as an independent, moving from the Social Democratic Party to a more right-leaning position. Experts believe he will draw votes from both the left and right.

Nicușor Dan. The independent candidate has been the mayor of Bucharest since 2020, and some polls show him winning, while others have him in third place. Seen as a moderate local politician, Dan’s political platform has been marked by crusades against corruption and support for Ukraine and NATO.

Several other candidates are running, including reformist Elena Lasconi, establishment leader Crin Antonescu, and John Ion Banu, a Trump supporter who emigrated in 1985 to the United States, where he founded the Romanian-American League. While some polls have Antonescu polling behind Simion, neither Lasconi nor Banu are expected to garner a significant number of votes.

What are voters’ main concerns?

As one of the EU’s more recent members, experts say Romania’s socioeconomic lag behind other member states raises concern. The country is grappling with several societal issues that are fueling public discontent, including low education and health-care spending compared to other EU countries. 

Between 1990 and 2024, Romania’s population declined by nearly four million people, due in large part to limited opportunities [PDF] for skilled workers. Meanwhile, the labor market has stagnated; the country has a lower employment rate (63 percent in 2023) than that of the EU average (roughly 70 percent).

Romania’s overall cost of living is rising much faster than the EU average, contributing to growing food insecurity and exacerbating the stark urban-rural wealth gap between Bucharest and the rest of the country. These issues have fueled anti-establishment sentiment, especially outside of the capital.

Ariel Sheinberg is an editorial intern at CFR. Will Merrow helped create the graphics for this In Brief.