(MENAFN) Preliminary results from Romania's recent presidential election rerun indicate that George Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, and independent candidate, Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, will face each other in a runoff election scheduled for May 18th.

The Romanian Permanent Electoral Authority's real-time count, with over 99.53 percent of ballots tallied, reveals Simion leading with 40.56 percent of the vote. Dan secures second place with 20.91 percent, narrowly edging out Crin Antonescu of the Romania Forward alliance, who garnered 20.32 percent.

The upcoming runoff is necessitated by Romania's electoral system, which demands an outright majority in the first round for a candidate to win outright. The presidential term in Romania is five years, with a two-term limit.

The initial election, held last November, was annulled due to claims of improper campaigning and foreign meddling.

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