Romanians are called to the polls on Sunday for the first round of the presidential election, during which the leader of the far right, George Simion, could come to power. Outgoing President Klaus Iohannis, a loyal ally of Ukraine who has already served two terms, cannot run again.
Polling stations will open at 05:00 GMT. Exit polls are expected to be released shortly after they close at 19:00 GMT. A second round is planned for December 8. The legislative elections are due to be held next Sunday.
Read also: Elections in Romania under the specter of the far right
Opinion polls predict a duel between Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, 56, leader since 2019 of the Social Democratic Party, the first political party in Romania, and the populist George Simion, 38, president of the Alliance for Unity of Romanians (AUR), which opposes any military aid to Ukraine.
“We take as a model the right-wing government formed in Italy”
Romania is a member of the European Union and NATO. George Simion presented the election as a choice between a political class beholden to foreign interests in Brussels, and himself, presenting himself as the defender of Romania's economy and sovereignty.
“We take as a model the right-wing government formed in Italy”, George Simion told the foreign press this week.
Many challenges await the future president: a slowing European economy, a record public deficit within the Twenty-Seven, which should require fiscal measures, and the unknown of the NATO budget under the upcoming presidency of the American president. Donald Trump.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Romania has enabled the export of millions of tonnes of grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta and provided military aid to Kyiv, including donating of a Patriot air defense battery.
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