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By Maya Mehrara
News Reporter
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Calin Georgescu, a candidate not affiliated with any party and prominent critic of Romania's pro-NATO and pro-Ukraine policy, has taken the lead in the presidential election and is projected to enter the presidential run-off vote after the first round on November 24.
Georgescu, 62, is ahead in the polls with 22.95 percent of the vote, compared to Elena-Valerica Lasconi, with 19.17 percent of the vote, and Ion-Marcel Ciolacu, with 19.15 percent of the vote, with 99 percent of the votes counted.
The second round of the Romanian presidential election is set to be held on December 8, and the election marks a significant shift in Romanian-Ukrainian relations, as Romania has provided Ukraine with significant aid in the war with Russia.
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Newsweek reached out to Georgescu for comment via email.
In a statement to Newsweek, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania said, "Romania is firmly committed to defending democratic values and human rights, including individual freedoms, gender equality, combating antisemitism, xenophobia, and discrimination in any form. Romania's foreign policy action is unseparable from Romania's belonging to the space of freedoms and rights guaranteed by its EU membership and NATO Ally status."
The statement continued: "Thus, 35 years since Romania returned to the Western democracies' family, through the courage of those who died during the Romanian Revolution, these values stand as a guarantee for peace, security and prosperity for all Romanian citizens, wherever they may live."
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The current Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, has been serving as the country's president since 2014 and is not in the running, according to Reuters.
Georgescu has reportedly previously called to end Romania's support for Ukraine and criticized NATO's missile defense station in Romania, calling it a "shame of diplomacy," according to the Kyiv Independent.
He has also previously said that the intergovernmental alliance will not defend any of its members should they be attacked by Russia.
Romania has provided "full-scale" support for Ukraine since the war's outbreak in February 2022 and has provided the country embroiled in war with humanitarian assistance, refugee care in Romania, military and security assistance, and more. Romania has also provided Ukraine with vital agricultural products.
Georgescu's surprising success in the Romanian presidential elections has been attributed to TikTok, where he has more than 267,000 followers and has gained more than 3 million likes on his videos.
His success has gone against previous projections for the presidential election, as political commentator Radu Magdin told BBC News, "Never in our 34 years of democracy have we seen such a surge compared to surveys," as surveys placed him receiving five percent of the vote.
Georgescu was previously a member of the Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR), a right-wing party, but he left in 2022 after senior members criticized his pro-Russian, anti-NATO stance. He previously said in an interview that Romania wasn't ready to handle anything diplomatically and that it should continue to follow "Russian wisdom," although he has reportedly not explicitly said if he supports Russia.
Romania shares a 610-kilometer (380-mile) border with Ukraine and Russian drone fragments have been found in the country on several occasions, with Russian drones also entering Romanian airspace. In a previous statement regarding Russian airborne drones entering Romania, Bucharest said, "We strongly condemn these violations and urge Russia to stop its reckless escalation."
Update, 11/28/24, 10:58 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania.
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