Young Romanians protest outcome of presidential first round vote

More than 1,000 young people gathered in University Square, the city centre of Bucharest, praising Europe and chanting, “Putin, don’t forget, Romania is not yours”.

The demonstrations were sparked by the victory of a Kremlin-friendly far-right nationalist independent candidate, Calin Georgescu, in the first round of the presidential elections.

A little-known politician prior to Sunday’s unexpected win, Georgescu shocked the nation after winning 23% of the votes following a campaign ran almost exclusively on TikTok, where many of his videos went viral.

He denied accusations of extremist beliefs despite his prior support for the fascist World War II unit, Iron Guards, and Nazi collaborationist dictator Ion Antonescu.

“I am accused of extremism, of connections with closer or distant countries, false, totally false, because I am entirely dedicated with everything, with my heart, with my life to the Romanian people,” Georgescu said.

Georgescu has also been a staunch critic of NATO — despite Romania being a member of the security alliance — while claiming neutrality.

In the 8 December runoff, Georgescu will face liberal pro-EU Elena Lasconi, the leader of the Save Romania Union party (USR), who came in second with 19% of votes.