Hard-right Călin Georgescu comes from nowhere to claim victory as liberal Elena Lasconi closes in on second place ahead of seismic Dec. 8 runoff.

Romania’s Central Election Commission has tallied 96% of the votes, showing Georgescu with 22% and Ciolacu with 20%. Read also: Romania investigates presidential candidate for ties with Russian intelligence Final results from the first round will be announced on Nov.

Romania’s political landscape is reeling after a little-known, far-right populist secured the first round in the presidential election, going from an obscure candidate to beating the incumbent prime m

By Luiza Ilie BUCHAREST (Reuters) -Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu looked set to win the most votes in the first round of a presidential election on Sunday, with centre-right leader Elena Lasconi in second place although nearly tied with two hard-right opponents,

Calin Georgescu, who ran independently, will face off against reformist Elena Lasconi in a runoff in two weeks.

A Romanian hard-right NATO critic and centre-right opposition party leader will likely face each other in a Dec. 8 presidential run-off vote, results showed, in an unexpected outcome that threatens Romania's staunchly pro-Ukraine stance.

Romania's political landscape is reeling after a little-known, far-right populist secured the first round in Sunday's presidential election, going from an obscure candidate to beating the incumbent prime minister.