George Simion, leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), remains the frontrunner in Romania’s presidential race, according to a poll conducted by AtlasIntel for HotNews between April 17-22. Despite a drop in support, Simion continues to lead with 31.9% of voting intentions.

The poll indicates that Simion has lost half of a 3 percentage point gain registered in April 10-13 compared to March. He positions himself as the political successor to far-right, pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu, whose candidacy was rejected amid legal investigations.

Simion maintains a solid lead ahead of the other contenders, but the poll also confirms he would lose the second round to almost any of his rivals, except Victor Ponta, who is competing for the same segment of the nationalist electorate.

Crin Antonescu, the joint candidate representing the ruling coalition, holds second place with 22.6%, down from 24.7% in the previous poll (April 10-13). Close behind is the independent candidate and current Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan, who has 22%, up from 21.2%.

Former prime minister and independent candidate Ponta is fourth, with 10.2%, while Elena Lasconi, the leader of the opposition Union Save Romania (USR) party, is in fifth place with 5.5%.

The AtlasIntel poll also tested second-round scenarios, showing that Simion would lose to all his main rivals except Ponta. However, he is closing the gap rapidly.

Antonescu’s second round margin over Simion has narrowed significantly, from 12.9% to 5%. Lasconi’s lead fell from 3.5% to 2%, while Dan’s advantage remained relatively stable, decreasing marginally from 3.2% to 3%.

In a hypothetical runoff between Antonescu and Dan, Antonescu would win with 31% of the vote against Dan’s 28%. However, this match-up also featured the highest level of electoral uncertainty, with 41% of respondents either undecided, unwilling to vote, or likely to cast a null ballot.

The latest polling figures come as the main pro-European candidates — Antonescu, Dan and Lasconi — urge voters to opt for a “practical vote” in the first round to prevent Simion from winning the presidency.

The survey was conducted using AtlasIntel’s Random Digital Recruitment (RDR) method and included a national sample of 3,701 respondents.