On Monday morning, Cholaku resigned as leader of the Social Democrats.
Political commentator Radu Magdin said Georgescu’s support was unprecedented: according to previous opinion polls, he won around 5% of the vote.
“Never in the 34 years of our democracy have we seen such a surge in the polls,” Mr. Magdin said.
The victory of Georgescu, who campaigned under the slogan “Restore the dignity of the Romanian nation”, was warmly received in the Russian media.
He had earlier condemned NATO’s ballistic missile defense shield at Deveselu in southern Romania as a “disgrace”.
Georgescu was a prominent figure in another far-right party, George Simeon’s AUR (GOLD), which eventually expelled him as too radical after he praised the leaders of the Iron Guard, Romania’s World War II fascist movement.
But late Sunday night, George Simion endorsed Georgescu and urged the 1.3 million voters who voted for him on Sunday to back Georgescu in the runoff.
Georgescu’s success presents a dilemma for millions of Romanians who voted for other candidates.
If Elena Lasconi is expected to make it to the second round, many supporters of the Social Democrats, especially in rural areas, will find it difficult to support such a liberal, progressive figure.
The campaign for this election focused mainly on the sharp rise in living standards, with Romania having the highest proportion of people at risk of poverty in the EU. Resentment of handouts to Ukrainian refugees in Romania also played a role.
The president in Romania has a mostly symbolic role, but has significant influence in areas such as foreign policy.
The turnout in the elections was 51%, which is similar to five years ago.
