Romanians voted on a key presidential election replay on Sunday, and the abolition of the vote last year put the EU and NATO member states in the worst political crisis in decades.
Eleven candidates are competing for the presidency, with a runoff expected on May 18. Polls start at 7 a.m. local time and will be closed at 9 p.m.
According to the Central Election Bureau, by 5 p.m., 7.1 million people (about 39.6% of eligible voters) voted, with 799,000 votes set up in other countries.
Romania's political landscape was shocked last year, when the Supreme Court canceled previous elections after Moscow denied election violations and Russian intervention.
Like many EU countries, anti-establishment sentiment is also high driven by high inflation and cost of living, huge budget deficits and economic sluggishness. Observers say discomfort has supported support for nationalists and far-right figures, such as being investigated and banned from replays.
Although data from local surveys should be conducted with caution, the median polls suggest that hard nationalist George Simion will enter runoff, potentially bringing him against Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan or candidate Crin Antonescu, the candidate for the Coalition of Councillors.
“We have only one task: return to the constitutional order, return to democracy,” Simon told reporters on Sunday morning at a polling station in the capital Bucharest.
Georgescu said the vote replays “a fraud planned by those who deceive the only national policy”, but he said he was there “recognizing the power of democracy, scaring the system’s voting rights, and making the system stimulate the system”.
General distrust of the authorities
Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former anti-corruption activist, founded the Save Romania Union Party (USR) in 2016, and is running with a Pro-eu “Honest Romania” ticket. After the vote, he said he voted for Romania with a “hope and a new starting point.” “I voted with realism because Romania has been through tough times,” he said.
Antonescu, 65, a seasoned centrist who aims to retain Romania's pro-Western orientation, said on Sunday that he voted for “a powerful Romania in Romania, for the solemn Romania, he voted for.”
Victor Ponta, who served as prime minister from 2012 to 2015, also promoted the Mecca-style “Romania No. 1” movement and boasted about his close ties to the Trump administration.
Another promising Elena Lasconi was ranked second in the first round of the vote last year and participated in the replay. She positioned herself as a firm pro-Western, anti-system candidate against what she described as a corrupt political class.
Distrust of the authorities remains widespread, especially for those who voted for George Cu, a fairly large voter that Simion is trying to exploit.
“Anti-establishment sentiment is not like an anarchist movement, but rather against the people who destroyed the country,” Simon ranked fourth in last year’s game and later supported George Scu, who told the Associated Press a few days before the replay. “We are no longer a democracy.”
Ghiorghies, 36, works in the energy sector and votes for Simion. He hopes that if he establishes his presidency, Romania can “return to the fundamental principles of democracy and regain our confidence”.
“What happened in December 2024 is definitely a dark chapter in the history of this country and we can't accept it anymore,” he said. “I hope things can return to normal.”
Romanian crossroads moment
Simion said his difficult nationalist coalition for Romania's unification “completely consistent with the Marg movement” and took advantage of the growing wave of populism in Europe following the political comeback of U.S. President Donald Trump. In the 2020 parliamentary elections, Aur declared to represent “family, nation, faith and freedom” and doubled his support.
Retired Person Completed Chiritoi said he felt his previous vote was robbed, which made him “only bad things” about the political class. “If my vote is cancelled again, or the vote I choose will not be elected, I will take it to the streets,” he said.
Election redo is a crossroads moment in Romania as it tries to restore its democracy and retain its geopolitical coalition, which has become tense since the canceled election fiasco.
The decision to abolish the election and ban on George Cu's candidates has drawn criticism from U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and Russia that publicly support his candidacy in the replay.
The presidency has five-year term and significant decision-making power in national security and foreign policy.
