site.btaIndependent Candidate Nicusor Dan Votes "With Realism"

Nicusor Dan, an independent presidential candidate and current mayor of Bucharest, cast his vote in the Romanian capital, accompanied by his partner Mirabela. He stated he was voting for hope, truth, honesty and a dignified European future, stressing the need for change in Romania's political class.

Dan described his vote as realistic, noting the country's difficult situation and his desire for justice. He thanked the Romanians in the diaspora, many of whom have already voted, and encouraged them to keep doing so.

Dan, 55, was re-elected mayor of Bucharest in 2024 and is running for president as an independent, with campaign support from the Save Romania Union (USR). A mathematician by training, he earned a doctoral degree in France before returning to Romania, where he became a civic activist and founded the Save Bucharest Association to protect the city's architectural and environmental heritage. Following a good showing in the 2015 and 2016 local elections, he renamed the party Save Romania Union.

Dan left the party in 2017 due to disagreements over its stance on the referendum for redefining the family in Romania's Constitution. He was against party plans to oppose calls for the law to be changed to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. He argued that the party should be a space for both progressive and conservative views, and taking such a stance would betray the former.