President Pavel congratulates Romania’s newly elected pro-democracy leader

Czech President Petr Pavel congratulated Nicușor Dan on his election as Romania’s new president. He praised the Romanian people for choosing an experienced, pro-democracy leader amid global instability and rising security threats.

Dan won the runoff election with 54% of the vote, defeating far-right candidate George Simion, who has challenged the results citing foreign interference.

The Czech head of state said he hopes that Dan’s presidency will strengthen ties between the two countries within the EU and NATO and looks forward to meeting him soon.

Romania’s elections were repeated after the country’s constitutional court annulled the first round last November due to foreign influence concerns involving a pro-Russian candidate who was barred from the rerun.