Members of the Romanian diaspora began voting until Sunday’s high stakes presidential election leak.
The second round of the presidential election is expected to be a tough competition between fierce right-wing candidate George Simion and pro-European independent Nicoa Dan.
Voting for Romanians began during the Romanian era at 10pm on Thursday, when the first polling station opened in Auckland, New Zealand.
According to the polling station, 158,000 voters out of 1 million voters had voted by 4pm on Friday.
“The European path is something I dreamed of because I was a student, and I believe in this direction so strongly, so votes are very important to me,” said one voter in Paris.
“I have already voted to go home for a better future, for our country’s peace, and for us who have lived abroad for many years,” said another voter in Rome.
Romania is plagued by a deep political crisis after far-right outsider Karin Georgek invalidated the previous election, where he broke through the first round, following allegations of election violations and Russian interference.
After finishing fourth in a cancelled race last year, Simion supported the 38-year-old leader for Romanian unity, or AUR, who supported Georgeuk, who was banned from standing in Redor in March. Simion then surged to rerunners in April after becoming a standard rep for the stiff right.
Voting overseas may be decisive
A recent local survey shows that the leak has nearly tied after previous people showed Simion leading the 55-year-old mathematician Dan, who has become prominent as a civic activist fighting illegal real estate projects.
Simion is also a former activist who campaigned for unity with neighboring Moldova, and says he will focus on reform. It’s about reducing red tape, bureaucracy and tax reductions. However, he argues that his main goal is to restore democracy. “My platform is to go back to democracy, to the will of the people,” he said.
Simion’s activities in Moldova led to claims that he was trying to destabilise the country and banning entry there. He is also banned from entering Ukraine due to “systematic anti-Wen” activities.
Moldovan’s Prowestern President Maia Sandou posted a public message this week in support of Dan, urging Moldovan to understand the value of being “part of a European family” and to vote for Moldovan to “protect what he has already achieved” of his dual citizenship in Romania.
Hours after the votes were held on Friday, Simion accused the Moldovan government of election fraud, claiming it was quickly rejected by Moldovan and Romanian authorities. “These statements are intended to sow distrust and hostility, with the aim of affecting the election process,” Romanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
In the first round on May 4th, Simion won a massive 61% of Romania’s large diaspora votes.
Claudiu Tufis, an associate professor of political science at Bucharest University, says Sunday results are likely to be summarised in voter turnout. “Vote turnout is key,” he said.
Over the past week, Simion has sought to strengthen its diaspora support on a tour of the European capital.
Both campaigns are considering voting for Romanians overseas for the second round on Sunday. Simion has been on campaign tours in London, Rome, Brussels and Paris, but his candidate, Dan, is campaigning in Romania.
Additional sources •AP, transported
