Romania votes in crucial presidential election rerun

Romanians are casting ballots in the presidential election after an earlier vote in November was canceled due to Russian allegations.

Polls started at 7 a.m. local time (04:00 GMT), and will end at 9 p.m. (00 GMT), with exit polls anticipated shortly after. According to opinion polls, George Simion, a far-right politician, is expected to win the first round.

The Constitutional Court overturned Calin Georgescu’s previous victory, which has been forbiddied from the rerun.

Following a massive TikTok campaign and accusations of Russian interference, which sparked sometimes violent protests, Georgescu was exempt from the rerun. In the first round of Sunday’s election, Simion, one of 11 presidential hopefuls vying for the largely ceremonial but significant foreign policy position, has effectively taken his place.

Simion says he supports the “Make America Great Again” movement of US President Donald Trump, criticizes the leadership of the European Union, and opposes military aid to the neighboring Ukraine.

He currently leads by about 30%, which is a respectable lead if he wants to avoid a run-off on May 18.

Two centrist candidates, including former Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan, 55, who is running as an independent on an anticorruption platform, are Simion’s main rivals.

Both support Ukraine and support the EU. Fourth-ranked Victor Ponta, a former leftist prime minister who has since become a conservative nationalist, is a potential dark horse.

Aurelia, 66, a pensioner who declined to give her last name, told the Reuters news agency that she felt “humiliated” by the cancellation of November’s first round. “George Simion equals Calin Georgescu, he gets my vote,” she said.

“This is where everything is lacking,” he said. Did my children leave to go to work abroad because things are so good here?

Eugenia Niculescu, 65, a pensioner in Bucharest who has struggled to pay for her medication and other bills, said to the AFP news agency: “We want a capable person who knows how to speak up for the Romanian people in the EU.”

The president of Romania has a semi-executive role that includes chairing the security council that decides whether to approve military aid and serving two five-year terms.

The president appoints the prime minister, chief judges, prosecutors, and secret service heads, and holds the power to veto significant EU votes.