George Simion, leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), conceded defeat on Sunday night and congratulated Bucharest mayor and pro-EU independent candidate Nicușor Dan for winning the presidential election.

Centrist candidate Nicușor Dan has been elected President of Romania after defeating conservative rival George Simion in the second round of voting held on May 18. Dan, currently the mayor

The far-right candidate is the favorite to win the second round of the presidential election on Sunday.

Nicusor Dan, a pro-European figure, has won Romania's presidential election with 54% of the vote, defeating nationalist George Simion. Dan campaigned

If Bucharest does lurch over to the saboteur camp, it would be a bitter blow as Romania carries greater geostrategic heft than Hungary or Slovakia. The Black Sea nation of 19 million has, until now, been a rock-solid stalwart of the EU and the NATO alliance.

Pro-European centrist Nicușor Dan will be the next president after a divisive vote that one former president described as a choice between “continued integration with the West and a slide toward a more authoritarian model”.

Romania is holding the second round of its presidential election. Voters are choosing between hard-right Eurosceptic George Simion and liberal Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan. We're expecting polling stations to close in all three nations over the next couple of hours. We'll bring you the results right here as we get them.

“Congratulations Nicușor Dan! Long live free Romania,” exulted center-right Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose party candidate also won a narrow election victory Sunday night in Poland. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was also thrilled by the outcome, as Dan promises to keep Romania on its pro-EU, pro-NATO pathway.