Romanians vote in tense presidential runoff that pits nationalist against pro-EU centrist

Bucharest: Romanians were voting on Sunday in a tense presidential runoff between a hard-right nationalist and a pro-Western centrist in a high-stakes election rerun that could determine the geopolitical direction of the European Union and NATO member country.

The race pits front-runner George Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, against incumbent Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan.

It comes months after the cancelation of the previous election plunged Romania into its worst political crisis in decades.

Polls opened at 7 am local time and were to close at 9 pm. By noon, more than 4.6 million people — or about 25 per cent of eligible voters — had cast ballots, according to official electoral data. Romanians abroad have been able to vote since Friday at specially set-up polling stations, and more than 750,000 have already voted.

Romania’s political landscape was upended last year when a top court voided the previous election after far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first-round polls, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow denied.

Simion appeared alongside Georgescu at a Bucharest polling station on Sunday and told reporters that he voted against the “humiliations to which our sisters and brothers have been subjected.”

“We voted against abuses and against poverty. We voted against those who look down on all of us,” he said. “I voted for our future to be decided only by Romanians, for Romanians and Romania. So help us God!”

Years of endemic corruption and growing anger toward Romania’s political establishment have fuelled a surge in support for anti-establishment and hard-right figures, reflecting a broader pattern across Europe. Both Simion and Dan have made their political careers railing against Romania’s old political class.

Most recent local surveys indicate the runoff will be tight, after earlier ones showed Simion holding a lead over Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician who rose to prominence as a civic activist fighting against illegal real estate projects.

After voting in his hometown of Fagaras, Dan told reporters that he voted for Romanians “who are quiet, honest, and hardworking, and who have not felt represented for a long time.”

“I voted for a change that brings prosperity, not one that brings instability and discourages investment in Romania,” he said. “I voted for a European direction, and for strong cooperation with our European partners, not for Romania’s isolation. I voted for a society where we can have dialogue, not one where we are destined to be divided.”

Turnout is typically higher in the final round of Romanian presidential elections, and is expected to play a decisive role in the outcome on Sunday. In the first round on May 4, final turnout stood at 9.5 million, or 53 per cent of eligible voters, according to official electoral data.

Dan founded the reformist Save Romania Union party in 2016 but later left, and is running independently on a pro-European Union ticket reaffirming Western ties, support for Ukraine and fiscal reform.