A pro-European Union centrist pulled off an upset in Romania’s presidential election, beating out a hard-right nationalist who had channeled people’s anger at the political establishment to surge in the polls.

Romania's hard-right nationalist George Simion will face a pro-Western reformist in a pivotal runoff in two weeks after decisively winning the most votes in the first round of the presidential election redo.

Romanians vote Sunday in one of the EU country’s most important elections in decades after the previous ballot was annulled following allegations of violations and Russian interference.

Romanians are confronting a deluge of online disinformation ahead of a fraught presidential election redo next week, including ominous claims that the EU and NATO member country is surging toward “imminent war” with Russia.

Romania is gearing up to hold a presidential election redo next month, a high-stakes test for the European Union member’s democracy after last year’s annulled vote triggered the country’s deepest political crisis since 1989.

He shook Romania’s political landscape in November when he secured the first round in the presidential election, going from an obscure candidate to beating the incumbent prime minister.

Romania’s leftist Social Democratic Party has withdrawn from negotiations to form a pro-European coalition government, extending political turmoil that has gripped the European Union country after a top court annulled a presidential election.