Georgescu won 23% of the vote, 19% for Elena Lasconi of the opposition Union of Salvation Romania, who took second place.
Prime Minister Marcel Cholaku of the ruling Social Democratic Party came in third.
Now the Central Electoral Commission has to decide how, in what composition and at what time the recount of votes will be carried out.
The complete vote tally is unprecedented in Romanian post-communist history.
Georgescu is currently scheduled to face Lasconi in the second round on December 8.
“Extremism is fought with votes, not behind-the-scenes games,” Lasconi said.
“I call on the Central Election Commission to act sensibly on the counting of votes. The law should be one for all, and not be interpreted differently for some.”
TikTok has also faced allegations of non-compliance with election rules by Romania’s top security body, the Supreme Council of National Defense.
Outgoing president Klaus Iohannis, who convened the council, said the platform “does not list him as a political candidate.”
But TikTok strongly denies these allegations.
“It is categorically wrong to claim that his account was treated differently than any other candidate,” the statement said.
“When the Romanian authorities approached us to flag some videos without identifiers… we took action on those videos within 24 hours.”
Georgescu himself rejected criticism that he illegally used the social media platform to gain an advantage in the election.
The 62-year-old has more than 330,000 followers – up from 30,000 just over two weeks ago – and more than 4 million likes.
“The budget for this campaign was zero… I had a very small team – 10 people at the most, no more. But (we) had millions of people behind us,” he told the BBC.
“I am not different – the Romanian people are different. The Romanian people need freedom. True democracy means spirituality. God. Our land. Our property. Our soul. Our family.”
He added that state structures are trying to deny the people’s choice.
Protesters against Georgescu have already taken to the streets of Bucharest and several provincial cities, and Georgescu urged his supporters to “stay at home with friends and family” and not respond to provocations.
Romania’s telecommunications regulator Ancom has called for TikTok to be suspended pending an investigation by prosecutors into suspected election manipulation.
Romania’s National Audiovisual Council also asked the European Commission to investigate how TikTok, which bans official political ads, was used during the election.
Romania will hold parliamentary elections this weekend, with far-right parties AUR and SOS Romania hoping for a surge in popularity after the presidential election.
The ruling coalition parties, the Social Democrats and National Liberals, are in disarray – humiliated by the failure of their candidates in the presidential election.
Across Romania and the large Romanian diaspora abroad, there is a mood of uplift, despair, or simply confusion.
