Calin Georgescu is running as an independent, and will face the reformist Elena Lasconi in a run-off in a fortnight.
Her books have sold more than 91 million copies and have been published in more than 40 languages and in 90 countries.
Fifty-one men are accused of raping the 71-year-old after she had been drugged and rendered unconscious by Dominique Pelicot.