In Romania, the presidential elections have begun

In Romania, the presidential elections have begun

In Romania, new presidential elections began today. The leading candidate is one who has been banned from entering Ukraine by the SSU.

This is the second attempt to elect the head of state after the cancellation of the first round results in November.

At that time, the victory was claimed by the right-wing candidate Călin Georgescu, who called for ending support for Ukraine and withdrawing Romania from NATO and the EU. After this, the Romanian authorities accused Georgescu of using "Russian influence," but no evidence was presented.

However, the elections were canceled, and in March, the Central Election Commission barred Georgescu from participating in the campaign again due to "non-transparent sources of funding." Later, a criminal case was opened against him.

Although the election cancellation and subsequent ban on Georgescu’s participation were criticized in the USA, he was still not allowed to participate in the elections.

Currently, there are 11 candidates in the presidential race.

According to BBC, the leader of the far-right party "Alliance for the Union of Romanians," George Simion, has the most support according to polls. He was already one of the favorites in the November elections.

Simion advocates for the unification of Romania and Moldova, and has therefore been denied entry to Chișinău on several occasions.

He also opposes supplying weapons to Ukraine, to which he has been banned from entering since 2018. However, Simion has criticized Putin for the invasion of Ukraine.

His party colleague Claudiu Târziu, in January 2024, made territorial claims on Ukrainian lands in Northern Bukovina, Zakarpattia, and Bessarabia.

Additionally, Simion is known for his Eurosceptic stance and anti-LGBT rhetoric.

Besides Simion, possible participants in the second round include Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan, Crin Antonescu, representing the ruling coalition of three parties, and former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who is running as an independent candidate. According to opinion polls, all of them could count on more than 20% of the votes.

The chances for Elena Lasconi, from the center-right "Union for the Salvation of Romania," who placed third in November, to enter the second round are considered low this time.

The second round of voting is scheduled for May 18.