BUCHAREST, Nov 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Romanians headed to the polls Sunday for the first round of the presidential election, choosing from 14 candidates to lead the country for the next five years.
According to the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania, over 18 million registered voters are expected to cast their ballots at nearly 19,000 polling stations from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time.
Overseas voting began Friday, with a record number of 950 polling stations abroad, according to the electoral authority.
Under the Romanian Constitution, if no candidate secures a majority, a runoff will be held between the top two contenders in two weeks. The candidate who gets the most valid votes will be the winner.
Bucharest residents are also voting in a referendum on local governance and public health initiatives, including funding for drug prevention programs in schools.
Romania’s president serves a five-year term, with a maximum of two consecutive terms allowed.
Social democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is leading a field of 13 hopefuls in the polls, with about 25 percent, followed by AUR leader Simion on 15 to 19 percent.
Simion is targeting people like Rodica, a 69-year-old who was among the first to vote in Bucharest’s chilly sunshine. The pensioner, who would not give a family name, was afraid of the Ukraine war and wanted “better living conditions and peace”.
The stakes are high in the race to replace President Klaus Iohannis, a liberal and staunch Ukraine ally, who has held the largely ceremonial post since 2014.
Romania, which has a 650-kilometre (400-mile) border with Ukraine, has become more important since Russia invaded its neighbour in 2022.
The Black Sea nation now plays a “vital strategic role” for NATO — as it is home to more than 5,000 soldiers — and the transit of Ukrainian grain, the New Strategy Center think tank said.
Simion opposes sending military aid to Ukraine, wants a “more patriotic Romania” and frequently lashes out against what he calls the “greedy corrupt bubble” in Brussels.
Romania has so far only had “minions and cowards as leaders”, he recently said, adding that people “no longer accept to be treated as second-class citizens” in other countries.
Simion has seen his popularity surge by tapping into voter anger over record inflation — 10 percent last year and 5.5% predicted for 2024 — while promising to deliver affordable housing for all.
Should he reach the second round, analyst Pirvulescu predicts a “contagion effect” that would likely boost his AUR party in the December parliamentary election.
“Romanian democracy is in danger for the first time since the fall of communism in 1989,” he added. — NNN-AGENCIES
