Romania's leftists set to top polls in parliamentary election, but far-right populists see big gains

BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania's Social Democratic Party looked set to win the most votes in Sunday's parliamentary election, incomplete data showed, while far-right populists were on track to make significant gains in the country's legislature. The voting suggested widespread anti-establishment sentiment in the European Union and NATO member country.

With about 85% of the votes counted, incomplete electoral data showed the leftist PSD leading the polls with about 23.9%, while the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, was in second place with about 17.8%. The center-right National Liberal Party, or PNL, stood at about 14.5% and the reformist Save Romania Union party, the USR, was at 10.9%.

The legislative vote came a week after the first round of a presidential race that saw a controversial far-right populist who was polling in single digits win the most votes, which has since plunged the country into political turmoil. Calin Georgescu, 62, is due to face reformist Elena Lasconi of the USR in a Dec. 8 runoff.

Despite only being formed last year, the little-known right-wing populist Party of Young People — which has backed Georgescu for the presidency — appeared on track to pass the 5% threshold to enter parliament, as did the far-right nationalist S.O.S. Romania party. However, some diaspora votes were still being counted and could alter the outcome.

Incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who came in third in the first round of the presidential race and resigned as PSD leader, said after polls closed that they "need to look carefully'' at Sunday's results. ''It is an important signal that the Romanians sent to the political class,'' he warned.

George Simion, the controversial 38-year-old AUR leader who is a vocal supporter of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, told the media that the anti-establishment gains amounted to a ''watershed moment'' for Romania.

''It is a moment when, through our common will, Romania is reborn,'' he said. ''We are here … generation after generation, proving that nothing can defeat a united nation.''

When polls closed locally at 9 p.m., about 9.4 million people — about 52.3% of eligible voters — had cast ballots, according to the Central Election Bureau. It was the biggest turnout in a parliamentary election since 2004. The vote will elect a new government and prime minister and determine the formation of the 466-seat legislature.

Many observers believe the presidential outcome indicated a sharp shift from Romania's mainstream parties to more populist anti-establishment parties, whose voices have found fertile ground amid high inflation, high cost of living and a sluggish economy.

The parliamentary election was sandwiched between two rounds of the presidential race, the first of which sent shockwaves through the political establishment and led to allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference.

Georgescu's TikTok exposure raises questions

Georgescu's success, which many have attributed to his rapid rise in popularity on the social media platform TikTok, has triggered nightly protests throughout Romania by those who oppose his past remarks praising Romanian fascist leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin and view him as a threat to democracy.

Without naming Georgescu, who declared zero campaign spending, Romania's top defense body said Thursday that ''a presidential candidate benefited from massive exposure due to preferential treatment'' granted by TikTok. Romania has become a ''priority target for hostile actions'' by Russia, it added. The Kremlin denies it is meddling.

The same day, the Constitutional Court requested a recount of all 9.4 million votes after a presidential candidate who obtained 1% filed a complaint alleging the USR had violated electoral laws against campaign activities on polling day. The Central Election Bureau approved the request and said scanned reports were due to be sent in by Sunday night. On Friday, the court postponed a decision until Monday on whether to annul the vote.

Lasconi, the USR leader and former journalist, vowed on Sunday evening that ''if we are united, the Russian bots on TikTok cannot destroy our democracy."

''I understand what is happening in society, I understand the anger, I understand the frustrations and that is why I am here now,'' she said. "We really need to make a change and rewrite the political elite.''

Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, told The Associated Press ahead of Sunday's vote that Georgescu's success indicated that far-right parties would obtain record highs.

''The most probable scenario will be a difficult-to-build majority in the parliament to support and endorse a new government,'' he added.

Despite historically being Romania's two main opposition parties that have dominated post-communist politics, the PSD and the PNL formed an unlikely coalition in 2021, which became increasingly strained. A small ethnic Hungarian party exited the Cabinet last year after a power-sharing dispute.

While the presidential role in Romania has significant decision-making powers in areas such as national security and foreign policy, the prime minister is the head of the nation's government.

Alexandru Rizescu, a 24-year-old medical student, says he was surprised by the result in the first-round presidential ballot and that it's an ''obvious sign'' Europe at large is shifting toward far-right populism.