Călin Georgescu won significantly among Romanian diaspora voters, surprising expectations and challenging traditional right-wing candidates.
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The first round of Romanian presidential elections was notable for TikTok’s influence and the unexpected victory of Călin Georgescu, a pro-Russian and far-right sovereign candidate. Georgescu won by a large margin among Romanians abroad, securing 346,000 votes, which is one-third more than his closest competitor, Elena Lasconiová. Overall, Georgescu received 2.1 million votes, with the diaspora contributing one-sixth of that total. George Simion, leader of the nationalist populist party AUR, was the third most successful candidate among the diaspora, indicating a strong rightward vote from Romanians overseas. Georgescu, who opposes EU membership for Romania, won over 45 percent of votes from Romanians working in Western Europe. Sociologists suggest that voters supporting him may view their vote as a protest against the system in Romania, despite benefiting from the EU as migrant workers. While George Simion was initially expected to win among the diaspora, Georgescu’s unexpected success is attributed to his significant virtual campaign. Romania has one of the largest officially registered diasporas in Europe, totaling about 3.1 million people.
