Second round of presidential elections in Romania on May 18: Next steps in the electoral process
Under the calendar for the Romanian presidential elections, applications to annul the elections can be submitted to the Constitutional Court until May 6 if there are allegations of electoral fraud. On May 8, the Central Electoral Bureau will send the voting results and the centralization documents to the Constitutional Court. The official validation of the first round of elections will occur shortly thereafter.
The electoral campaign for the second round will begin on May 9 and continue until May 17, the day before the final confrontation between George Simion, the leader of AUR, and Nicușor Dan, an independent candidate and the general mayor of Bucharest. The decisive round of the presidential elections is scheduled for May 18.
This election takes place in a unique context marked by an unprecedented decision: on December 6, the Constitutional Court of Romania annulled the autumn 2024 elections due to serious external interference, irregularities in campaign financing, and violations of electoral legislation. Declassified documents from the CSAT indicated Russia's involvement in a hybrid campaign supporting former candidate Călin Georgescu, who was later excluded from the electoral race.
As a result of these developments, new elections were announced, with the first round occurring on May 4, 2025. In this round, George Simion and Nicușor Dan qualified for the second round.
