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00:00After the first results came in, a jubilant George Simeon addressed his supporters.
00:05The right-wing nationalist candidate won more than 40% of the first-round vote
00:09and will go to the runoff on the 18th of May.
00:14This is the victory of those who have not lost hope,
00:17of those who still believe in Romania, a free, respected and sovereign country.
00:24The 38-year-old Romanian voted on Sunday alongside Killeen Georgescu.
00:28A symbolic gesture representing the pair's alignment
00:32throughout the political turmoil that has divided the country.
00:35Georgescu was a far-right candidate and front-runner for the presidency
00:39in the previous election late last year,
00:41until Romania's constitutional court abruptly annulled the results,
00:46citing Russian interference to sway the vote in Georgescu's favour.
00:51Classified documents revealed suspicious TikTok accounts
00:54as well as the use of paid social media influencers
00:56and cyber attacks from external forces.
00:59As an investigation was opened and Georgescu was barred from running,
01:04Simeon remained firmly by his side.
01:06If the voice of the people will say,
01:10we want Mr Georgescu in power, we'll take him to power.
01:14Simeon was born in the eastern city of Foxan
01:16and went on to study business and administration in Bucharest.
01:19During his master's, he focused on communist-era crimes
01:22and his early civic activism involved campaigning
01:25for reunification with Moldova.
01:27In 2019, Simeon founded the AUR Nationalist Party
01:31and has been an MP since 2020.
01:34He refuses to be labelled as far-right,
01:36but is openly anti-gay marriage,
01:38a eurosceptic and a vocal supporter of US President Donald Trump.
01:42He also opposes military aid to neighbouring Ukraine.
01:46And we are hoping that peace will be found
01:52through the efforts of President-elect Trump.
01:57Simeon goes into the second round in the lead,
02:00but will have to face off against Bucharest's pro-EU mayor
02:03to take the reins of the country.