A far-right, pro-Russia candidate has taken a surprise lead in the first round of Romania"s presidential election, with preliminary results putting his pro-Europe rival in close second, writes BBC.

With 96% of votes counted, ultranationalist Calin Georgescu was on 22%, and Marcel Ciolacu, the prime minister, had 20%, according to the Central Electoral Bureau.

The strong showing of Georgescu, who has no party of his own, and campaigned largely on the social media platform TikTok, came as the biggest surprise of the election.

He is now on track to join Ciolacu in a final run-off for the presidency on 8 December.

That would pose a dilemma for the millions of Romanians who voted for other candidates.

One option would be to rally round populist Social Democrat Ciolacu, an establishment figure who would continue Romania’s pro-western path.

Backing Georgescu, who has promised to Romania’s sovereignty, is the alternative.

Georgescu, who belongs to no party, has also sworn to end what he calls subservience to the European Union and Nato, especially on support for Ukraine. He has condemned the Nato ballistic missile defence shield in Deveselu, Romania.

The final result of this round will be known later on Monday, when votes from the capital Bucharest and from the large Romanian diaspora are counted. Turnout was 51%, similar to the figure five years ago.