Romania's political landscape is reeling after a little-known, far-right populist secured the first round in the presidential election.

Calin Georgescu, an obscure far-right populist, unexpectedly garnered the most votes in Romania's presidential election, advancing to face reformist Elena Lasconi. His success, partly attributed to his popular TikTok account,

Electoral data shows that a far-right populist has taken the lead in Romania’s presidential election and will likely face leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in a runoff in two weeks.

Far-right candidate Calin Georgescu surged unexpectedly in Romania's presidential election, pulling ahead of the pro-European prime minister with more than 98 percent of votes counted Monday and looking all but certain to advance to a runoff.

After polls closed, 9.4 million people - just over 52% of eligible voters - had cast their ballots, according to data from the Permanent Electoral Authority. #EuropeNews

Calin Georgescu, a hard-right populist, unexpectedly leads Romania's presidential race with 23% of the vote. His anti-EU and anti-NATO rhetoric contrasts with current pro-Western policies, raising concerns.

Calin Georgescu, who had been widely dismissed as a fringe extremist, won the most votes on Sunday. He will probably face a liberal opponent in the second round on Dec. 8.

A hard-right populist known for his anti-European Union and anti-NATO stance has unexpectedly surged into the lead in Romania presidential race, raising conce

Calin Georgescu, a prominent critic of NATO and Romania's support for Ukraine, has taken the lead in the presidential election.

Calin Georgescu, a far-right critic of Romania's pro-NATO and pro-Ukraine policy, is projected to enter the presidential run-off vote after a shock result in the first round on Nov. 24.