2024 Romanian presidential election

The result of the first round was a surprise, with independent nationalist candidate Călin Georgescu achieving a relative majority of votes, while the center-right politician Elena Lasconi finished second and also advanced to the runoff vote. Initially viewed as a minor candidate with little chance of victory, Georgescu quickly gained significant support through campaigning on non-traditional media outlets such as TikTok, receiving particular popularity among those disaffected with current Romanian politics, including youth, farmers, rural voters, and members of the working class. He was considered the front-runner in the race, and polling conducted after the first round of voting found him to be the most popular figure in the country's politics.

2024 Romanian presidential election

Leading issues included corruption, LGBTQ rights, the role of Christianity in public life, and the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. Georgescu, who has run on a nationalist platform, has criticised the National Coalition for Romania, a grand coalition of Romania's two largest parties, as corrupt. He has favoured increasing the role of Christianity in public life, promised to outlaw "LGBT propaganda", put forward plans towards partly nationalising important industries, and promoted neutrality and national sovereignty, as well as non-interventionism towards the Ukrainian War, without exiting NATO or the European Union. Lasconi supports secularism, further European integration, alignment with the United States and the West, and increasing military funding towards Ukraine.

2024 Romanian presidential election

Georgescu's campaign has been endorsed by an assortment of Christian democratic, nationalist and agrarian political parties, including the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, S.O.S. Romania, Party of Young People, Romanian Socialist Party) and the National Peasants' Party. Lasconi's campaign has been endorsed by the National Liberal Party), Democracy and Solidarity Party, Save Romania Union, and Renewing Romania's European Project, among several other parties. This was the first time since (/wiki/2000Romaniangeneralelection) that a nationalist candidate made it into the second round instead of either the National Liberals) or the now defunct Democratic Liberal Party). It was also the first time in the post-Communist period that the Social Democrats) failed to reach the run-off.

2024 Romanian presidential election