Romanian presidential election goes into a runoff

BUCHAREST — George Simion, chairman of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, and Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan will advance to the runoff of Romania's presidential election rerun, scheduled for May 18.

The announcement follows real-time preliminary results by Romania's Permanent Electoral Authority from the first round of the elections rerun on Sunday.

With over 99.53 percent of ballots counted, Simion maintains a commanding lead with 40.56 percent of the vote.