Djere Simion (Photo: Robert Ghement / EPA)

Far-right candidate Gheorghe Simion has won the first round of the Romanian presidential election with over 40% of the vote, according to the country's Central Electoral Commission, which has counted 87.90% of the ballots. Exit polls also show him winning, but by a smaller margin.

UPDATED at 00:00. 95.96% of protocols have been processed: Simion has 39.98%, while Antonescu and Dan are almost equal – 20.85% vs. 20.34%.

According to the CEC, Simion has 40.21%, with the ruling coalition candidate Crin Antonescu competing for second place with 21.19% and Nicusor Dan, an independent candidate and mayor of the Romanian capital, Bucharest, with 19.22%.

The Romanian Antena 3 CNN TV channel published the results of the polls the day before. Simion has 33.3%, Antonescu – 22.8%, and Dan – 21%, according to the CURS agency as of 9:00 p.m. (Romania is currently in the same time zone as Ukraine).

Avangarde reported at 8:00 PM that Simion has 30% support, followed by Antonesu and Dan with the same result of 23%.

What did the Romanian candidates say about Ukraine?

The front-runner, Simeon, opposes military aid to Ukraine and criticizes the European Union leadership. At the same time, he supports US President Donald Trump . On the eve of the election, he declared that Russia "is not a serious threat to NATO."

Antonescu has a more pro-Ukrainian position: in the event of his victory, the politician promised to continue supporting Ukraine "logistically and politically", but at the same time he is against sending Romanian peacekeepers.

Crin Antonescu (Photo: Robert Ghement / EPA)

Dan also advocates for continued support for Ukraine.

"I want to emphasize that the war in Ukraine is of crucial importance for the security of Romania and Moldova," the politician said in an interview with Reuters.

Nikusor Dan (Photo: Robert Ghement / EPA)

The next round of elections is scheduled for May 18.