Eurosceptic George Simion appeared on course for victory in the first round of Romania’s presidential election re-run on Sunday, exit polls showed, after a ballot seen as a test of the rise of Donald Trump-style nationalism in the European Union.

Far-right presidential candidate George Simion, of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), appears set to win the first round of voting in Romania's election, although the ultimate victor will be determined in a runoff later this month.

Nationalist candidate George Simion won the first round of Romania’s presidential election with some 40% of the vote, according to the preliminary results on Sunday. With 82% of votes counted, the race for second place — which will take the candidate to the runoff to face off against Simion in two weeks' time — between two pro-West coalition candidates,