Poland Portugal Romania presidential election 2025 results live updates: Russian cyber threat hangs over Polish presidential election

Portuguese citizens voted on Sunday in the country’s third general election in as many years, with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) expected to come out ahead but without enough seats to secure a majority.

According to final opinion polls, the AD is projected to outperform the Socialist Party (PS) and improve on its 2024 results. However, it is still anticipated to win fewer than the 116 seats needed for a majority in Portugal’s 230-seat parliament.

Just 48 hours before Poland’s presidential election, a cyberattack targeted the Civic Platform party, sparking fears of Russian interference in the vote.

The centrist party, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and backing the leading presidential candidate, blamed Russian hackers for Friday’s breach. The attack comes on the heels of a similar incident in April, when the party’s IT systems were compromised. At the time, the government described it as an attempt to access the computers of party members and election officials, according to DW.

More than 20% of eligible voters in Poland had cast their ballots by midday in the ongoing presidential election, according to the country’s electoral commission, as reported by DW.

While turnout was around four percentage points lower than at the same time during the 2020 election, it was still six points higher than in the 2015 vote. Poland has approximately 28.3 million registered voters.

Voters in Portugal went to the polls on Sunday for the country's third general election in three years, with Prime Minister Luis Montenegro tipped to win, but without an overall majority.

Final opinion polls indicate his centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) is ahead of the Socialist Party (PS) and is likely to pick up more votes than in the last election in 2024.

But it is forecast to once again fall short of the 116 seats needed in Portugal's 230-member parliament to obtain a ruling majority.

The far-right Chega party is on track to finish third once more, making it a potential kingmaker, although Montenegro has refused to govern with the populist movement.

The election in the European Union member state of around 10 million people comes as the bloc is grappling with global trade tensions and seeking to beef up its defences.

-AFP

Romanians voted on Sunday, May 18, in a closely watched presidential election re-run between two very different candidates: George Simion, a nationalist who supports former U.S. President Donald Trump, and Nicușor Dan, the pro-European mayor of Bucharest. The result could change the country’s political direction, especially as Romania is a NATO member that borders Ukraine.

The election was held again after last year’s vote was canceled due to claims of election interference. If Simion wins, he would become Romania’s first far-right president and join a growing group of EU leaders who are critical of Brussels and want to reduce military help to Ukraine.

Both Simion and Dan have promised change, appealing to voters frustrated with corruption and the country’s long-standing political class. Romania remains one of the poorest members of the European Union.

By noon on election day, more than 4.6 million Romanians—representing 25% of eligible voters—had cast their ballots in the presidential election, according to official data. Polling stations opened at 7:00am local time and will remain open until 9:00pm. Meanwhile, over 750,000 Romanians living abroad have already voted at special overseas polling stations, which began operating on Friday.

Poland’s presidential election got off to a smooth start on Sunday, with no irregularities reported, according to Sylwester Marciniak, head of the National Electoral Commission (PKW). At a morning press briefing, Marciniak stated that all polling stations opened as scheduled and that voting has proceeded without disruptions. The PKW plans to deliver further updates during press conferences at 1:30pm, 6:30pm, and 10:00pm after polls close.

Poland’s presidential election on Sunday will determine whether the country continues along Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-European course or shifts toward nationalist policies influenced by former US President Donald Trump. Trump's potential political comeback has energized Eurosceptic forces across Europe, making this election a crucial test of Tusk’s European vision since he replaced the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party in 2023.

Portugal will hold its third general election in as many years this Sunday, with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro expected to win, though likely without securing a clear majority in the parliament. Latest polls show his centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) slightly leading over the Socialist Party (PS), but still falling short of the 116 seats needed for a majority in the 230-seat assembly.

Montenegro has focused on tax cuts for young people, pension increases, and a stricter immigration policy, promising to end what he describes as an overly permissive "wide-open doors" approach. Immigration has become a major topic in the election.

During the previous Socialist Party government, Portugal became one of Europe’s most immigrant-friendly nations, with the foreign resident population growing rapidly from 2017 to 2024, reaching about 15% of the total population.

Poland’s presidential election on Sunday will determine whether the country continues to follow Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-European course or shifts back toward nationalist policies that align with US President Donald Trump. Trump’s potential return to power has given rise to eurosceptic movements across Europe, making this election the most significant test yet of Tusk’s pro-EU policies since he replaced the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party in 2023.

Portuguese voters went to the polls on Sunday for the country’s third parliamentary election in as many years. Despite the vote, many anticipate ongoing political instability, as it is expected to fail in forming a stable government.

The election was triggered after Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, leading a centre-right minority government, lost a confidence vote in March, just a year into his term. Montenegro had initiated the vote himself after opposition parties raised concerns about his family's consultancy business.

Poland is conducting its presidential election under increasing security concerns, fuelled by the ongoing war in neighbouring Ukraine and apprehensions about the potential reduction of US commitment to European defence under former President Donald Trump. The leading candidates are Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, a liberal aligned with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian with no prior political background, supported by the right-wing Law and Justice party.

Romania Presidential Election Live: Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan casts his vote, advocates for Pro-European path

Nicusor Dan, the mayor of Bucharest and a presidential candidate, cast his vote in Făgăraș on Sunday during Romania's presidential election second round. He expressed his support for maintaining the country's pro-European trajectory and preventing international isolation.

People in Poland are voting on Sunday in a presidential election that will decide if the country continues to follow a pro-European direction with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, or if it turns toward more nationalist leaders who support ideas like those of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump’s return to politics has given new energy to anti-EU groups in Europe. This election is the biggest test for Tusk’s plans to keep Poland close to the European Union since he became prime minister in 2023, replacing the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party.

The main candidates are Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski from Tusk’s Civic Coalition, and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian supported by the PiS party. Trzaskowski is currently ahead in the polls. If no one gets more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates will face each other in a second round on June 1.

Romanians living in other countries are voting in very large numbers in the second round of the 2025 presidential election. Voting for people abroad started on Friday morning, and by 7pm on Saturday, more than 609,000 had already voted — almost 90% more than at the same time in the first round.

The most votes came from the UK, with over 100,000 people voting there. Germany and Italy each had around 97,000 voters. In Moldova, more than 70,000 people voted, and over 65,000 voted in Spain. In the US and Canada, more than 15,000 people took part.

If this pace continues on Sunday, votes from abroad could go over 1.5 million — which would be a new record in Romania’s election history.

Romania is in the second round of its presidential election, with a tight race unfolding between Nicusor Dan, the Bucharest mayor, and George Simion, the far-right leader of the AUR party and a vocal supporter of Donald Trump.

Simion won the first round earlier this month with 40.96 per cent of the vote. Recent polls suggest the two contenders are now virtually tied.

Millions of Portuguese will cast their ballots on Sunday in a third general election in as many years, though many are bracing for more uncertainty as the vote is unlikely to deliver a stable government.

Sunday's ballot was called just one year into the centre-right minority government's term after Prime Minister Luis Montenegro failed to win parliament's confidence in March in a vote he himself proposed when the opposition questioned his integrity over the dealings of his family's consultancy firm.

Polling stations will open from 8 am to 7 pm (0700-1800 GMT), with exit polls expected to trickle in from 8 pm. (1900 GMT).

The presidential election pits Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, from Tusk's Civic Coalition, against conservative historian Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by PiS.

Trzaskowski has been cast as the frontrunner, likely to face Nawrocki in a run-off, due on June 1, if no candidate wins over 50%. Media blackout laws forbid the publication of opinion poll results from early on Saturday until voting ends on Sunday.

Also competing are far-right candidate Slawomir Mentzen from the Confederation party, Parliament Speaker Szymon Holownia of the centre-right Poland 2050 and Magdalena Biejat from the Left. (Reuters)

Poles will be voting on Sunday in a presidential election that will decide whether Warsaw follows the pro-European path set by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, or take a step towards bringing back the nationalist admirers of US President Donald Trump.

Trump's return to power has energised eurosceptics across Europe, and Sunday's ballot will be the sternest test of Tusk's pro-European vision since he came to power in 2023, ousting the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party. (Reuters)

There is a huge amount at stake in this election, for both Romania and Europe. Romania is the sixth largest country in the EU and the largest in southeastern Europe. It has the longest border with Ukraine of any EU member state and is home to both the most important NATO base and missile-defense system in the region.

Romania has thus far been a reliable and predictable partner for both the EU and NATO.

But all that could change if Simion is elected, plunging Romania into a similar kind of chaos as the US is experiencing under Trump.

The first of the two candidates in the runoff is 38-year-old George Simion, head of the extreme right-wing, pro-Russian Alliance for the Union of Romanians party. A former football hooligan, Simion now describes himself as a "sovereignist" and is a fan of both US President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

He was the clear winner of the first round of the election on May 4, garnering almost 41% of the vote.

His opponent is 55-year-old Nicusor Dan, the independent mayor of Bucharest. Dan is a mathematician, former anti-corruption activist and a man with clear pro-European, largely liberal and at times moderately conservative positions.

He came second in the first round, albeit far behind Simion on 21%.