Once a member of Romania’s far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, Georgescu left the party in 2022 after a period of infighting and being accused by colleagues of being pro-Russian and critical of NATO, the U.S.-led military alliance to which Romania belongs.

BUCHAREST (Reuters) -A Romanian hard-right NATO critic and centre-right opposition party leader will likely face each other in a Dec. 8 presidential run-off vote, results showed, in an unexpected outcome that threatens Romania's staunchly pro-Ukraine stance.

Romania’s political landscape is reeling after a little-known, far-right populist secured the first round in the presidential election.

Calin Georgescu, who has stunned Romania and its European allies by leading the first round of the eastern European country's presidential election, is a far-right, self-styled outsider critical of NATO and of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The pro-Russian nationalist candidate Calin Georgescu had racked up a definitive 350,000 vote lead in an upset in Romania's presidential election as counting in the first round wound to a finish Monday.

Romanian students staged a rally at University Square in Bucharest on Monday (November 25) against the far-right presidential candidate Calin Georgescu, who secured a surprise victory in the first round of the presidential election.

Calin Georgescu takes shock lead in Romania’s presidential election A far-right, pro-Russia candidate has won the first round of Romania’s presidential elections. Calin Georgescu has defied the polls and surprised the political establishment.