Presidential candidate Nicusor Dan waves to his supporters after polls closed for the country's presidential election redo in Bucharest, Romania, on May 19. Mr. Dan led ultranationalist candidate George Simion by 54 per cent to 46 per cent with nearly all of the votes counted.Vadim Ghirda/The Associated Press
Voters in Romania and Poland narrowly backed centrist presidential candidates in elections on Sunday, but populist parties remain a potent political force.
Poland held a first-round vote on Sunday while the election in Romania was a runoff between two candidates.
In the latter, Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan led ultranationalist candidate George Simion by 54 per cent to 46 per cent with nearly all of the votes counted. A pair of exit polls released shortly after voting ended at 9 p.m. local time showed Mr. Dan ahead by a similar margin.
Exit polls in Poland put Warsaw’s centrist Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski on top with 31 per cent of the vote, followed by Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by the populist Law and Justice party, or PiS, at 29 per cent. Far-right candidate Slawomir Mentzen, of Confederation, was third at 15.4 per cent. A final vote count is expected on Monday, and Mr. Trzaskowski and Mr. Nawrocki will contest a second round on June 1.
Presidents hold limited powers in Poland and Romania, but they oversee foreign policy, head the military and they can block legislation passed by parliament.
While the moderates were in front in both countries, voters appeared to be voicing their anger at the status quo and open to far-right arguments.
Mr. Simion, 38, a former soccer hooligan and anti-vaccine campaigner, tapped into voter worries about the country’s flagging economy – Romania is among the poorest countries in the EU – and rampant corruption.
He advocated widespread nationalization and less involvement with the EU. He also called for a halt in military aid to Ukraine and a Romania-first policy inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement.
If he’d won the second round, Mr. Simion was expected to side with Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, and Slovakia’s Prime Minister, Robert Fico, in weakening cohesion within the EU on a range of issues including Ukraine.
He also won over many voters who were furious at the exclusion of fellow nationalist Calin Georgescu, who was victorious in the original first round of voting last November. That result was annulled by Romania’s top court after allegations of Russian influence, and Mr. Georgescu was banned from running again.
The court’s decision drew widespread criticism including from U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, and Mr. Simion vowed that if he became president he would appoint Mr. Georgescu as prime minister.
Mr. Simion took 41 per cent of the vote in the first round on May 4, almost double Mr. Dan’s total. He also received the backing of roughly 60 per cent of the 1.6 million Romanians who live abroad. They made up around 10 per cent of all voters.
On Sunday, Mr. Simion refused to concede defeat. “I am the new president and I am giving back power to Romanians,” he said after voting ended.
Analysts said Mr. Dan had likely benefited from a much higher voter turnout in the second round – 65 per cent versus 53 per cent on May 4 – especially in larger cities where he does better.
Mr. Dan, 55, is a strong supporter of the EU and military aid for Ukraine. On Sunday, he said Romanians had voted for “dialogue, not hatred” and in a nod to popular discontent, he added: ”A community of Romanians has won, a community that wants a profound change in Romania."
But he also urged caution. “There will be a difficult period ahead, necessary for economic rebalancing to lay the foundations of a healthy society. Please have hope and patience,” he said.
The Polish exit-poll results were also far better for the two right-wing candidates than opinion polls predicted during the campaign. Most surveys put Mr. Trzaskowski ahead of Mr. Nawrocki by five to six percentage points. Sunday’s exit polls showed them virtually tied.
Mr. Nawrocki, a 42-year-old political rookie, has tried to position the election as a referendum on the administration of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose centrist coalition, Civic Platform, won a parliamentary majority in 2023. That victory ended eight years of PiS rule and Mr. Tusk vowed to introduce a host of changes including easing the country’s strict laws against abortion.
Mr. Tusk has faced growing criticism for failing to deliver on his promises and Mr. Nawrocki has managed to exploit that disapproval. On Sunday, he urged Mr. Mentzen’s backers to support him in the second round. “We both want a sovereign, strong, rich and safe Poland,” he said.
Mr. Tusk has blamed the current Polish President, Andrzej Duda, for thwarting his legislative agenda. Mr. Duda, a PiS supporter, was elected in 2015 and 2020, and cannot run for a third term.
Mr. Trzaskowski, 53, claimed first-round victory on Sunday but already began pitching for second-round support among leftist candidates. He has promised to implement Mr. Tusk’s agenda and back legislation to liberalize the law on abortion.
“I am going for victory, so that Poland would become richer, so that the government would fulfill all its promises,” he said Sunday.