On May 18, 2025, after the polls closed in the second round of the presidential elections in Romania, George Simion, a candidate from the far-right Alliance for the Unification of Romanians (AUR) party, declared a "stolen" victory and called on his supporters to stage nationwide protests. This was reported by the Romanian outlet HotNews, citing Simion's statements and messages sent to AUR members. "If the fraud continues, protest! Nationwide protests tomorrow morning if they try to steal the victory of the Romanian people!" read a message distributed among party activists. According to preliminary data from the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Romania, after 95,71% of the ballots were processed, independent candidate, Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, is in the lead with 54,32% of the votes, ahead of Simion (45,68%) by 670 votes. This was also reported by Reuters and the BBC.

Simion, the leader of AUR, rejected the exit polls from CURS and Avangarde, which showed Dan winning with 54,1-54,9%, and stated on the social network X that, according to his calculations, he was ahead of his opponent by 400 thousand votes.

"I am the new president and I am returning power to the Romanians!" " he wrote, calling the victory "a triumph for Calin Georgescu," whose supporters backed AUR after his exclusion from the race.

The 2025 elections were a repeat after the annulment of the November 2024 results, when ultra-nationalist Georgescu won the first round, but the Constitutional Court overturned the results due to suspicions of Russian interference through social media, including TikTok. Georgescu, who was banned from running, backed Simion, giving AUR 40,96% in the first round on May 4 against Dan’s 20,99%. The second round saw a high turnout of 64,72%, or 11,64 million voters, of whom 1,64 million voted abroad.

Simion accused Dan of falsifications, including violating the day of silence and allowing a pro-European rally in Bucharest on May 18. He also claimed there were 1,7 million “dead souls” on the lists and voters were being transported from Moldova. The Romanian Interior Ministry recorded 140 possible violations, but did not confirm systemic falsifications.

AUR, founded in 2019, opposes aid to Ukraine, criticizes the EU and NATO, and demands compensation for the Patriot system transferred to Kyiv. Simion, who is banned from entering Ukraine and Moldova for calling for the annexation of their territories, positions himself as a “Trumpist.” Dan, on the contrary, supports European integration and aid to Kyiv, which has strengthened his position in the cities.