Proper-wing EU critic George Simion is operating towards pro-EU Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan within the second spherical
Romanian voters returned to the polls on Sunday, Might 18 for the second spherical of a presidential election rerun following a court-annulled vote final 12 months. The runoff is between George Simion, a critic of Brussels who has been banned from getting into Ukraine, and Nicusor Dan, the pro-EU mayor of the capital, Bucharest.
Round 19,000 polling stations have opened throughout Romania for the second spherical of the election. Voting started at 7am native time (4am GMT) and is scheduled to finish at 9pm, with exit polls anticipated quickly after.
George Simion, the chief of the right-wing Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), got here in first within the preliminary spherical earlier this month with 40.96% of the vote – practically 20 share factors forward of Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, who got here in second. Current polls, nonetheless, present a tighter race, with one reporting a tie and one other giving Dan a slim lead.
Dan, who’s operating as an unbiased, is a Sorbonne-educated mathematician who entered politics after years of activism. He has pledged to struggle corruption, scale back financial inequality, and keep sturdy ties with the EU and NATO. He additionally claims that Romania’s help for Ukraine is significant to nationwide safety.
Simion opposes EU paperwork and Brussels-mandated insurance policies, which he has described as a part of a “grasping and corrupt bubble.” He helps what he calls a “Europe of sovereign nations” and has positioned himself as a defender of “conventional values,” in distinction to “globalist ideologies.” He has denied being anti-European, describing his alliance as “Eurorealist, not Euroskeptic,” in keeping with Politico.
Though Simion has insisted he’s not pro-Russian, he opposes sending weapons to Ukraine and has known as for a negotiated settlement to the battle between Moscow and Kiev. He has additionally praised US President Donald Trump, calling him “an emblem of freedom,” and has stated he would reverse what he describes as an “anti-American shift in Europe.”
The election follows the annulment of the earlier vote, through which unbiased right-wing candidate Calin Georgescu led within the first spherical with 23% of the vote. Romania’s Constitutional Court docket overturned the outcomes, citing electoral irregularities and allegations of international interference, together with marketing campaign exercise on TikTok and suspected Russian “hybrid” affect. Moscow has denied having any involvement.
Georgescu was later barred from operating once more by the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC), which cited his alleged “anti-democratic” and “extremist” positions and procedural violations. The court docket upheld the BEC’s choice.
Simion has publicly supported Georgescu, arriving with him at a polling station on Sunday. He beforehand stated he may appoint him prime minister if elected.
On the eve of the vote, Simion claimed that voter manipulation was going down in Moldova, the place many Romanian residents are voting. He has additionally deactivated his TikTok and Fb accounts, citing compliance with the election silence guidelines.
After Simion’s sturdy exhibiting within the first spherical, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu resigned and introduced the Social Democratic Social gathering’s withdrawal from the ruling coalition, stating that the bloc not has political legitimacy. The PSD has stated it won’t help both candidate within the runoff.
