In the first round of elections held in Romania, after 98.66% of the ballots were counted, independent candidate Kelin Georgescu unexpectedly took the lead.

Axar.az informs that this was reported by AFP.

Corcesku received 22.59% of the votes, while current Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu garnered 19.55% and advanced to the second round.

George Simion, the candidate of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, received 13.94% of the votes.

It is worth noting that Kelin Georgescu, who entered the election as an independent candidate, is a trained agronomist. In the mid-2000s, Georgescu served as head of a department at Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later held various positions at the UN in the field of environmental protection.

Georgescu is criticized for his nationalist views. As a presidential candidate, he is opposed to Romania’s involvement in NATO and supports the normalization of relations with Russia.

His success in this election has been attributed to his campaign on TikTok.

A final run-off of Romania's presidential elections will be held on December 8.