section_path: 2025 presidential campaign
section_name: 2025 presidential campaign
paragraph_text: 2025 presidential campaign
  
  After the Piața Unirii incident, Dan was viewed even more favourably by the general populace of Bucharest, being called a bulwark against the widespread corruption of the country and the only one to effectively stand against the PSD-PNL coalition. This led to speculation of a possible presidential candidature in the next elections. On 16 December he announced his candidacy for the 2025 Romanian presidential election, after the annulment of the 2024 elections due to Russian meddling in favour of winner of the first round Călin Georgescu.
  
  His announcement came as a surprise to many, as he had previously expressed his intention to serve at least one more term as Mayor of Bucharest before the elections, stating that he "would need at least 2-3 terms to make everything right in Bucharest." This change of plans also led to a falling out with Elena Lasconi, a former supporter of Dan, who came second in the annulled 2024 elections' first round. It is widely believed that Lasconi and Dan appealed to similar voter demographics, with both targeting liberal, progressive, moderate, pro-European, and anti-PSD/anti-PNL camps. As a result, their simultaneous candidacies may have divided this voter base. The Constitutional Court validated his candidacy on 16 March along with those of George Simion and Victor Ponta. On 22 March, a random draw placed Dan at the bottom of the candidate list on the ballot.
  
  Dan came second in the first round of voting on 4 May with 20.99% of the vote. On 18 May, he faced George Simion in a runoff, winning the presidency with 53.6% of the vote.