Exit polls showed Romanian ultranationalist candidate George Simion with a strong lead, though not the majority needed to avoid a runoff, in a presidential election nearly six months after an initial vote was abruptly canceled amid allegations of a Russian influence campaign.
With polling stations now closed, Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the AUR party, took around 30-33 percent of the vote in the May 4 election, according two exit polls.
In both polls, Crin Antonescu, a member of the country's ruling coalition government, placed second with about 23 percent. Bucharest Mayor Nicursor Dan also had 23 percent in one poll, and 20.9 percent in the other.
The vote is being closely watched outside of Romania, in part because Simion has made controversial statements claiming parts of Ukrainian and Moldovan territories as well as questioning Romanian military aid to Ukraine.
He has also criticized Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
SEE ALSO: A Canceled Vote, Then A Banned Candidate. Now Romania Holds Election Rerun.Last November, Calin Georgescu , a pro-Russian nationalist seen as a fringe candidate, pulled off a surprise win in the first round of voting.
However, authorities annulled the results amid accusations of a Russian influence campaign to boost his candidacy. Georgescu was banned from running in the new elections, and a raft of new rules were introduced for the May 4 rerun.
SEE ALSO: Who Is Calin Georgescu, The Far-Right Winner Of Romania's Presidential First Round?The canceled vote drew criticism outside of Romania, most prominently from US Vice President JD Vance, who weighed in during a speech at the Munich Security Conference in February, accusing officials of acting on "flimsy suspicious and enormous pressure from its continental neighbors."
Simion has publicly embraced some of the rhetoric of US President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again movement.
In November, he posted a photograph of himself wearing Trump’s signature red baseball cap with the logo "Trump Save America," and he recently said he's "perfectly aligned ideologically with the MAGA movement."
On April 24, electoral authorities announced an investigation into Simion's political party over allegations it had violated campaign-financing rules.
SEE ALSO: How TikTok Fueled The Rise Of Romania's Far-Right Presidential Candidate GeorgescuThe investigation has centered on allegations that Simion organized a $1.5 million payment to a US lobbying firm to set up meetings in Washington with prominent media figures allied with Trump. Simion has denied the allegations.
The election campaign drew outside observers to monitor the vote. In a pre-election report, monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) criticized some of Romania's registration and vote tallying procedures.
The Trump administration also sent its own election observer independent of the OSCE: a top official from the Federal Election Commission, which oversees US elections.
It's unclear whether Simion can net more than 50 percent of the vote for an outright victory. In that case, a second round of voting between the top two candidates will be held on May 18.
Most observers believe Simion would find it challenging to win a second round, particularly if Dan or Antonescu garner enough votes.