An ultranationalist who opposes military aid to Ukraine, has vilified the EU`s leaders, and calls himself Donald Trump`s "natural ally" has won the first round of Romania’s rerun presidential vote and will face a centrist in the runoff, as vote counting nears its end, writes The Guardian.

With 99% of votes counted late on Sunday, George Simion, whose far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) began as an anti-vax movement during the pandemic, was comfortably in the lead on a projected 40.5% of the vote.

Far behind in second place was Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan with 20.89%, and in third place the governing coalition’s joint candidate, Crin Antonescu, with 20.34%. He conceded defeat after midnight, saying he believes it`s an "irreversible result".

The two highest-scoring candidates are scheduled to face each other in a second-round runoff on 18 May, nearly six months after the original ballot was cancelled amid evidence of an alleged "massive" Russian influence campaign.

After the exit polls were published, Simion said: "This is not just an electoral victory, it is a victory of Romanian dignity. It is the victory of those who have not lost hope, of those who still believe in Romania, a free, respected, sovereign country".