The surprise far-right winner of the first round of Romania's presidential election has denied he wants to leave NATO and the European Union, appearing to roll back some of his positions amid protests over his victory.

Electoral data shows that a far-right populist has taken the lead in Romania’s presidential election and will likely face leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in a runoff in two weeks.

A hard-right critic of NATO who has praised Russia is set to face a centre-right opposition leader in a presidential election run-off in Romania that could undermine its pro-Western stance after a shock outcome in the first-round vote.

A Romanian hard-right NATO critic and centre-right opposition party leader will likely face each other in an 8 December presidential run-off vote, results showed, in an unexpected outcome that threatens Romania's staunchly pro-Ukraine stance.

Romania's top court ordered a vote recount in the first round of the presidential election, it said on Thursday, in a ruling observers said risked tarnishing the credibility of state institutions ahead of two more ballots.