Marcel Ciolacu is clearly ahead of his rivals, according to exit polls. George Simion, admirer of Donald Trump, is potentially eliminated.
Published on 24/11/2024 20:53
Reading time: 2min
The pro-European Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, came on Sunday, November 24 at the top of the first round of the presidential election in Romania, according to two exit polls. When the polls closed at 9 p.m. (8 p.m. in Paris), the head of the social-democratic government was credited with 25% of the votes, ahead of Elena Lasconi (18%), center-right mayor of a small town and two far-right candidates (15 to 16% each).
Marcel Ciolacu, 56, thanked his voters for giving him this first place, a result “crystal clear”while calling for waiting for the full count to know who he will face on December 8. Elena Lasconi, a 52-year-old former journalist turned politician, also called for caution. “The scores are very close, it’s not time to celebrate yet”she said.
On the far right, the leader of the AUR (Alliance for the Unity of Romanians) party George Simion, 38, who was predicted to be in second position, is currently fourth, just behind Calin Georgescu, a pro-Russian candidate. 62-year-old who created a surprise. Admirer of Donald Trump, George Simion did not admit defeat. “We will see the results of the polls at 11 p.m. (10 p.m. in Paris)”he declared, promising “two more battles”during the legislative elections on December 1 and a week later for the second round of the presidential election.
A qualification from the far right would be a thunderclap in this loyal EU and NATO member state of 19 million inhabitants which has until now resisted nationalist postures, distinguishing itself from Hungary or the Slovakia. Romania, sharing a 650-kilometer border with Ukraine and bordered by the Black Sea, plays a strategic role “vital”recalls in a study by the New Strategy Center think tank. Both for NATO, of which it houses more than 5,000 soldiers, and for the transit of Ukrainian cereals.
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