George Simion, leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), conceded defeat on Sunday night and congratulated Bucharest mayor and pro-EU independent candidate Nicușor Dan for winning the presidential election.

Romanian far-right leader George Simion announced Tuesday he will contest his defeat in last Sunday’s presidential election, alleging foreign inference from France and Moldova.

The far-right candidate is the favorite to win the second round of the presidential election on Sunday.

Centrist candidate Nicușor Dan has been elected President of Romania after defeating conservative rival George Simion in the second round of voting held on May 18. Dan, currently the mayor

If Bucharest does lurch over to the saboteur camp, it would be a bitter blow as Romania carries greater geostrategic heft than Hungary or Slovakia. The Black Sea nation of 19 million has, until now, been a rock-solid stalwart of the EU and the NATO alliance.

The hard-right nationalist who lost Romania’s presidential election rerun says he has asked a top court to annul the election results

Far-right candidate George Simion was defeated in Romania's election by the pro-EU Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan.