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PREVIEW: Romania holds first round of presidential elections

The second round, if it is needed, is scheduled for May 18

BUCHAREST, May 4. /TASS/. The first round of presidential elections will be held in Romania.

To win in the first round, a candidate needs to get 50% +1 vote. The second round, if it is needed, is scheduled for May 18.

Almost 18 million voters have been registered, 19,000 polling stations will be open. Voting abroad among Romanians began on Friday and will continue for three days.

In total 11 candidates will run for the office of the President - four independent ones and seven representatives of various parties and alliances.

According to pre-election polls, the candidates with the best chances are: George Simion (the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, a far-right political party), Crin Antonescu, former leader of the Liberals and former Speaker of the Senate (the joint candidate of the pro-European bloc Romania, Forward!, which includes the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania), Nicusor Dan, Mayor of Bucharest, independent candidate, Victor Ponta, former Prime Minister, independent candidate, Elena Lasconi (center-right Save Romania Union).

The Constitutional Court rejected the candidacies of nationalist politicians Calin Georgescu and Diana Sosoaca, citing their failure to respect constitutional and democratic norms.

The vote is to be held instead of the planned presidential elections, which were interrupted late last year by the Constitutional Court after nationalist candidate Calin Georgescu won the most votes in the first round on November 24, 2024. This was done under the pretext of illegal financing of Georgescu's campaign, hacking attacks on the digital infrastructure used in the electoral process, and alleged but unproven Russian interference.

The unprecedented move caused a scandal both in Romania and abroad. Many commentators regarded it as a gross violation of democratic norms and even a coup d'etat, the purpose of which was to remove from the presidential race an inconvenient, anti-system candidate who upset all the calculations of the Romanian political establishment.

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