Pro-EU Niksor Dan Romanian wins the presidential race, defeating the nationalist George Simian

European European Mayor Niksor Dan of Bucharest won the Romania presidential election on Sunday. Dan defeated nationalist George Simian and secured 54 percent of the votes, who led the first round with 46 percent on May 4.55 -year -old Dan campaigned on a message of change and reconstruction, promising to “rebuild” Romania and promises to run the country on a western route. Talking to supporters gathered at Bucharest Park, he called Jeet “A Moment of Hope”. “In today’s elections, a community of Romanian people who want a deep change in Romania,” said Dan.Romania is one of the poorest members of the European Union, with a large wealth difference. It has been ruled by the same political aristocracy since the fall of communism in 1989. The new presidents have a significant impact on foreign policy, and Dan has openly supported Ukraine amidst the ongoing struggle, urging voters to reject Simian’s “separatist” stance.Dan decided to run for the President after the last year’s elections were canceled by the Constitutional Court of Romania. The vote was stopped due to claims of Russian intervention, which Russia denied, and a social media campaign that supports a distant candidate Simian, which has now been banned from politics.Ursula von Der Leyen, chairman of the European Union Commission, sent a “hottest congratulations” to Dan after his election victory over his social media platform, X.Who is Niksor Dan?Dan was born in Brasov County, Transylvania and showed an early promise as a mathematics prose, winning several international competitions. He studied maths at Bucharest University before going to France for his PhD. After returning to Romania, he dedicated himself to fight corruption and illegal urban development.Romania has been ranked as one of the most corrupt countries of the European Union by Transparency International and has long struggled with Graft. Dan first became a political activist, then transferred to electoral politics. After several attempts, he was elected the mayor of Bucharest in 2020 and won again in 2024. He left the party that he founded, Save Romania Union (USR), was running as an independent. He argued that the party should focus on corruption rather than civilian freedom, including LGBTQ rights.Since becoming the mayor, Dan has modernized the capital’s heating system and sports features and helped Bucharests out of bankruptcy. Known for his reserved nature and careful speech, he has faced criticism for lack of decisive and poor communication. “He is a more managerial, administrative type, but he is a very decent, honest man,” said political analyst Sorin Kuseri.What’s next?When the polling ended at 9 pm local time (1800 GMT), official data revealed that 64% of the eligible voters had participated. Around 1.64 million Romanians living abroad voted at special polling stations, which was about 660,000 more than the first round. In the first round on 4 May, voting was 53%.The Romanian President works for a five -year term and handles significant powers on national security and foreign policy. The winner will also have the job of naming a new Prime Minister, Marsel Cialaku resigned after his coalition candidate failed to reach the runoff.