In Upset, Centrist Wins Romania’s Presidential Election

In a setback for Europe’s surging nationalist forces, Nicusor Dan, a centrist mayor and former mathematics professor, on Sunday won the presidential election in Romania, defeating a hard-right candidate who is aligned with President Trump and has opposed military aid to Ukraine.

With more than 98 percent of ballots counted, preliminary official results gave 54 percent of the vote in the presidential runoff to Mr. Dan, 55, the mayor of Romania’s capital, Bucharest.Hi opponent, George Simion, a nationalist and fervent admirer of Mr. Trump who had been widely seen as the front-runner, drew only 46 percent.

As he slipped behind Mr. Dan in early counting, Mr. Simion told supporters that “we are the clear winners of these elections.” He called for national protests should the final count show him as the loser, railing against what he said was an attempt “to steal the victory of the Romanian people.”

Mr. Dan’s victory will likely calm fears in Europe’s political mainstream that Romania, which borders Ukraine and plays a vital role in defending NATO’s eastern flank against Russia, might join Hungary and Slovakia in opposing help for Ukraine and in cozying up to Moscow.

But it will likely inflame Romania’s nationalist camp and its supporters abroad, including Vice President JD Vance, and stoke accusations that the system is rigged. Last year, a Romanian court ordered a last-minute cancellation of a presidential election that an ultranationalist appeared well positioned to win.

In the final days of the campaign, as opinion polls showed the race tightening, Mr. Simion laid the groundwork for a Romanian version of Mr. Trump’s “stop the steal” efforts in 2020. He insisted that only electoral fraud could prevent him from winning.