Emotional choice in his hometown: Dan voted at the school he attended as a child

Nicosor Dan, an independent candidate and current mayor of Bucharest, won Romania’s presidential election, beating far-right nationalist George Simion. The victory came as a surprise and brought relief to European politicians who had been worried about the rise of right-wing populists.

Politico reports.

On election day, Dan visited his hometown of Feherava in Transylvania, where he voted at the same school he had attended as a child, along with his partner, Miraela Gredinaru. He said his emotions were running high during the vote, and he could barely hold back tears.

Although exit polls had given Simion a lead in the first round, with 41% of the vote to Dan’s 21%, the situation changed dramatically after the debates between the candidates. While Simion was aggressive, Dan remained calm and persuasive. According to Dan, Simion’s refusal to participate in other discussions was a grave mistake.

Nikushor Dan is 55 years old. He is a mathematician, a two-time winner of the International Mathematical Olympiad, and, in the past, has stated his intention to return to science after a career in politics. His style is analytical and restrained, which contrasts with populist trends. This approach irritates his opponents; Simion’s campaign even included insults to Dan, which caused widespread outrage.

During the campaign, Dan and his partner were attacked for their personal lives — in particular, for not being officially married, as well as for raising their children. The politician spoke out about this, emphasizing that the attacks on his family were brutal to take.

Dan decided to run in December after Romania was plunged into a constitutional crisis when the Constitutional Court annulled the results of the previous election due to suspicions of foreign interference. Candidate Călin Gheorgheescu, who was considered pro-Russian, was disqualified from running but was supported by George Simion, who promised to appoint Gheorgheescu as prime minister if he won.

Dan’s opponent built his campaign on promises to fight “the system,” called for an end to aid to Ukraine, and clashed with Western leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron. Accordingly, Macron held a conversation with Dan and expressed concern about the possible blocking of aid to Ukraine and Moldova if Simion were to succeed.

After winning, Dan declared his intention to restore public trust in politics, which suspicious election campaigns had undermined. He promised to publish documents on election interference, make personnel changes in the judicial system, appoint a new ombudsperson, and implement reforms in the inspection of justice, as well as in the principles of appointing judges and prosecutors.

In addition, he announced his intention to appoint a new prosecutor general during the first year of his term, who will be engaged in a systematic fight against corruption, including in areas such as taxes, real estate, logging, and drug trafficking.

At the same time, ahead of the presidential elections in Poland, Warsaw reports unprecedented attempts by Russia to interfere. The Polish minister noted that attacks on infrastructure and disinformation campaigns could have serious consequences for the vote.

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