Romanians will go to the polls on Sunday to choose between hard-right candidate George Simion and pro-European independent Nicușor Dan, in a presidential election redo expected to shape the country’s future.
After coming fourth in last year’s cancelled race, Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) party, has been backed by surprise winner, ultranationalist Calin Georgescu, who was banned in March from standing in the repeat.
Simion then surged to become the frontrunner in the 4 May first round, winning 40.5% of the vote, including a massive 61% of the Romanian diaspora’s ballots.
Simion says he would focus on reforms: slashing red tape, reducing bureaucracy, and taxes. But he insists that his main goal is to create “a model of economic cooperation and a model of peace”.
“I will be an example of pro-European, pro-NATO president fighting for the interests of the Romanian nation,” Simion told Euronews and Euronews Romania in Brussels on Thursday.
Meanwhile, most recent domestic surveys indicate the runoff has narrowed to a near tie, after earlier ones showed Simion holding a lead over Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and mayor of Bucharest.
Dan is running on his own on a pro-EU ticket, supporting economic reform, Western links, and support for Ukraine. He founded the reformist Save Romania Union party in 2016 but later resigned.
On Sunday, he noted the rising tensions at a demonstration in Bucharest. “How did it come to this, that in a country with hardworking, decent people, there is so much hatred and division, that families and circles of friends are torn apart over political opinions?” he said.
“We need to project hope,” he added.
Both candidates support the end of Russia’s war on Ukraine, but Dan wants Romania to continue supporting its neighbour, while Simion wishes Romania to halt its aid.
With so much at stake, both candidates have courted support from European leaders. While Dan is getting support from Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Moldova’s President Maia Sandu, Simion is aligning himself more with Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni.
Earlier this week, Sandu posted a public message in support of Dan, saying Moldovans understand the value of being “part of the European family”.
ADVERTISEMENTThe Romanian president’s office has a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy.
Additional sources • AP
