site.btaUPDATED Far-right Independent Candidate Calin Georgescu Takes Unexpected Lead in Romanian Elections, Elena Lasconi Comes in Second

Independent candidate Calin Georgescu took a surprising lead in Romania's presidential elections, with 2,120,404 votes, or 22.94%, said the Permanent Electoral Authority after processing  all 20,059 tally sheets from the voting sections, AGERPRES reported.

Elena Lasconi, candidate of the center-right Save Romania Union, came in second with 1,772,503 votes (19.18%), ahead of the candidate of the Social Democrat Party, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, with 1,768,761 votes or (19.15%). 

Georgescu and Lasconi will run in the second round of the presidential election on December 8.

Media outlets described the ranking of Georgescu, who in most previous opinion polls showed much lower results and remained outside the top five, as a "surprise" and a "shock to the political scene in Romania".

HotNews reported that Georgescu had a strong campaign on TikTok, where many of his videos have become extremely popular. However, just a few days ago, the Central Electoral Bureau decided that all of his campaign posts on the network should be deleted because they did not contain the mandatory mark with the electoral code.

The presidential term in Romania is five years, and the Constitution does not allow more than two terms in office. The head of State has a semi-executive role, which includes leading the armed forces and chairing the Supreme Council of National Defence, which makes decisions on military aid. The president also represents the country at EU and NATO summits and appoints the prime minister, top judges and prosecutors, as well as the heads of the secret services, Reuters explained.

The second round of the presidential election will be held on December 8, with parliamentary elections to be held between the two rounds, on December 1.