ATHENS 

Nicusor Dan, the winner of the May 18 presidential elections, was sworn in as Romania's new president on Thursday, after the Constitutional Court rejected far-right rival George Simion's plea to annul the elections.

Following the court's validation of the election results, which confirmed Dan's presidential mandate and rejected Simion's appeal earlier on Thursday, Dan said in the courtroom: "I will fight for the consolidation of state institutions." I will also fight for the country's economic prosperity, as a business partner and guarantor of civil liberties."

Simion commented on the court's decision on X, saying: “The Romanian Constitutional Court has continued the coup d'état by rejecting our appeal."

The “only thing left for us is to keep fighting,” he added.

Nicusor Dan, the pro-EU mayor of Bucharest, won the Romanian presidential election on May 18, which was closely watched in many European capitals, with 53.6% of the vote to his populist, nationalist rival George Simion's 46.4%.