After the polls closed on Sunday evening, Romanians were eagerly awaiting the outcome of their closely-watched presidential election rerun, which featured a competition between a hard-right nationalist and a pro-European Union centrist. The results could potentially have a significant impact on the geopolitical orientation of the NATO member country.

The main contenders in the election were front-runner George Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), and the incumbent Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan. The rerun of the election took place several months after the previous election was canceled, leading to a major political crisis in Romania.

According to official electoral data, when voting ceased at 9 p.m., a total of 11.6 million individuals, equivalent to around 64% of eligible voters, had participated in the election. Additionally, approximately 1.64 million Romanians living abroad also took part in the vote by casting their ballots at specially designated polling stations since Friday.

Turnout was significantly higher in Sunday’s runoff and is expected to play a decisive role in the outcome. In the first round on May 4, final turnout stood at 9.5 million, or 53% of eligible voters.

Romania’s political landscape was upended last year when a top court voided the previous election in which far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first-round polls, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow denied.

Shortly after 6 p.m., Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Andrei Tarnea said in a post on X that the election was subject to a “viral campaign of fake news” on the Telegram messaging app and other social media platforms, which tried to influence the electoral process and had “the hallmarks of Russian interference.”

Networks of coordinated disinformation have emerged as a pervasive force throughout Romania’s entire election cycle. Romanian authorities debunked the deluge of fake news, Tarnea said.

Simion appeared alongside Georgescu at a Bucharest polling station on Sunday and told reporters that he voted against the “humiliations to which our sisters and brothers have been subjected.”

“We voted against abuses and against poverty,” he said. “I voted for our future to be decided only by Romanians, for Romanians and Romania. So help us God!”

What’s going on in Romania?

Years of endemic corruption and growing anger toward Romania’s political establishment have fueled a surge in support for anti-establishment and hard-right figures, reflecting a broader pattern across Europe. Both Simion and Dan have made their political careers railing against Romania’s old political class.

Most recent local surveys indicated that the runoff would be tight, after earlier ones showed Simion holding a lead over Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician who rose to prominence as a civic activist fighting against illegal real estate projects.

After voting in his hometown of Fagaras, Dan told reporters that he voted for Romanians “who are quiet, honest, and hardworking, and who have not felt represented for a long time.”

“I voted for a change that brings prosperity, not one that brings instability and discourages investment in Romania,” he said. “I voted for a European direction, and for strong cooperation with our European partners, not for Romania’s isolation. I voted for a society where we can have dialogue, not one where we are destined to be divided.”

Dan founded the reformist Save Romania Union party in 2016, but later left, and is running independently on a pro-European Union ticket reaffirming Western ties, support for Ukraine and fiscal reform.

Simion’s rhetoric in the lead-up to Sunday had raised some concerns that he wouldn’t respect the outcome if he lost.

He appeared on the steps of Romania’s colossal Communist-era parliament building early in the afternoon, telling reporters that his team was confident in a “landslide victory,” if the election was “free and fair.”

However, he repeated allegations of voting irregularities among Romanian citizens in neighboring Moldova and said that his party members would conduct a parallel vote count after polls close. He told The Associated Press that the ballot so far had proceeded properly.

Adrian Nadin, a 51-year-old musician who supported Georgescu in the previous election, said that he chose Simion.

“A part of Romania prefers conservatism,” he said.

Luminita Petrache, a 32-year-old financial crimes analyst, didn’t want to say who she voted for but described the runoff as a geopolitical choice between East and West.

“It is very important because the next president will be our image in Europe, and (decide) how Romania will evolve in the next five years,” she said. “I hope for changes in Romania in good ways.”

What’s ahead?

The president is elected for a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in matters of national security and foreign policy. The winner of Sunday’s race will be charged with nominating a new prime minister after Marcel Ciolacu stepped down following the failure of his coalition’s candidate to advance to the runoff.

After coming fourth in last year’s canceled race, Simion backed Georgescu, who was banned in March from running in the election redo. Simion then surged to front-runner in the May 4 first round after becoming the standard-bearer for the hard right.

A former activist who campaigned for reunification with neighboring Moldova, Simion says he would focus on reforms: slashing red tape and reducing bureaucracy and taxes. Still, he insists that restoring democracy is his priority, returning “the will of the people.”

His AUR party says it stands for “family, nation, faith, and freedom” and rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election. It has since grown to become the second-largest party in the Romanian legislature.

A stark choice: Russia or the EU?

His critics say Simion is a pro-Russia extremist who threatens Romania’s longstanding alliances in the EU and NATO.

In an AP interview, he rejected the accusations, saying that Russia is his country’s biggest threat and that he wants Romania to be treated as “equal partners” in Brussels.

“I don’t think he is a pro-Russian candidate, I also don’t think that he’s an anti-Russian candidate,” said Claudiu Tufis, an associate professor of political science at the University of Bucharest. “I think what is driving him is … his focus on what I call identity politics.”

In the first-round vote, Simion won a massive 61% of Romania’s large diaspora vote, with his calls to patriotism resonating with Romanians who moved abroad in search of better opportunities.

Hours after voting abroad opened on Friday, Simion accused the Moldova’s government of election fraud, claims that were quickly rejected by Moldovan and Romanian authorities.