Romanians vote in tense presidential runoff to compare nationalists with pro-EU-centricists
Bucharest, Romania (AP) – Romanians took a tense presidential runoff to vote on a high-stakes election replay between a tough nationalist and a pro-Western centrist on Sunday, which could determine the geopolitical direction of EU and NATO members.
Sunday's game substitute captain George Simion, 38-year-old Romanian or Aur unified leader, opposed to the current Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan. Romania has been in its worst political crisis in the past few months, with previous elections cancelled for decades.
The poll is closed at 7 a.m. GMT (0400 GMT) and will be closed at 9 p.m. GMT (1800 GMT). Romanians abroad have been able to vote since the polling stations established in other countries on Friday, with more than 730,000 votes already being held.
Romania's political landscape was overturned last year when the highest right-wing outsider Calin Georgescu canceled the chief poll in the first round of polls after allegations of election violations and Russian intervention in Moscow denied.
Years of popular corruption and growing anger at Romanian political institutions have sparked support for anti-establishment and tough figures, reflecting a broader model throughout Europe. Both Simion and Dan made their political professions rail the old political class in Romania.
Recent local surveys have shown that runoff will be tight, after earlier people have shown that Simion remains a leading position against 55-year-old mathematician Dan, a civic activist who opposes illegal real estate projects.
Turnout is usually higher in the final round of the Romanian presidential election and is expected to play a decisive role in Sunday's results. In the first round of the match on May 4, the final turnout was 9.5 million, accounting for 53% of qualified voters, according to official election data.
Dan formed the Reformers Save Romanian Coalition in 2016, but later left and reaffirmed Western tie with a ticket to support the EU, running independently for Ukraine and fiscal reform.
The presidency has five-year term and significant decision-making power in national security and foreign policy. The winner of Sunday's game will be charged with nominating a new prime minister after Marcel Ciolacu's resignation and his league candidate failed to advance to runoff.
After finishing fourth in a match cancelled last year, Simion supports Georgescu, who was banned from standing under redo in March. Then, Simion became the first round on May 4, running forward after becoming the standard driver of the hard right hand.
Simion, also a former activist who runs with neighboring Moldova, said he will focus on reform: cutting the traditional tape festival, reducing bureaucracy and taxation. But he insisted that his main goal was to restore democracy. “My platform is to return to democracy and restore the will of the people,” he said.
The AUR party, he led, said it represents “family, nation, faith and freedom” and stands out in the 2020 parliamentary elections. Since then, it has become the second largest party in the Romanian legislature.
To his critics, Simon is a pro-Russian extremist who threatens Romania's long-term alliance in the EU and NATO. But in an interview with the Associated Press, he rejected the allegations, saying Russia is the biggest threat to his country and that he hopes Romania is seen as Brussels' “equal companion”.
“I don't think he's a pro-Russian candidate, nor do I think he's an anti-Russian candidate,” said Claudiu Tufis, associate professor of political science at the University of Bucharest. “I think what drives him is…he's focused on what I call identity politics.”
In the first round of voting, Simion won 61% of the large Romanian diaspora vote, his call for patriotism to draw calls from Romanians who moved abroad to seek better opportunities.
Hours after the vote opened on Friday, Simion accused the Moldovan government of guilty of claims that Moldovan and Romanian authorities quickly refused. “These statements are intended to sow distrust and hostility with the intention of affecting the election process,” the Romanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
