Anti-Nato nationalist wins first round of Romanian presidential election

A hardline anti-Nato nationalist has unexpectedly won the initial round of Romania’s presidential election, sowing uncertainty about the political future of a pivotal state on the alliance’s eastern flank.

With more than 99.9 per cent of the ballots counted, Calin Georgescu, 62, who has praised President Putin’s regime and argued that the “imperialist” military-industrial complex is behind the war in Ukraine, had won about 22.9 per cent of the vote.

That put him more than three points ahead of two pro-western candidates, Elena-Valerica Lasconi and Ion-Marcel Ciolacu, who were tied on roughly 19 per cent.

If the result is confirmed it will constitute a significant upset after polls suggested that Ciolacu, the country’s Social Democratic prime minister, had been on course for a relatively straightforward