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Romania votes in second round of presidential election - with Bucharest mayor and hard-right Trump supporter almost tied in polls

Published 7 hours ago4 minute read

Polls have opened for the second round of Romania's presidential election - with little separating centrist candidate Nicusor Dan from the populist George Simion.

Voting began at 7am (5am UK time) and is set to end at 9pm (7pm UK time), with exit polls to follow soon after.

Romania's last six months ago after the country's highest court decided that the leading candidate, nationalist , should be disqualified due to allegations of electoral interference by Russia.

Mr Simion, 38, he supports US President Donald Trump. He also opposes military aid to Ukraine and has been critical of the European Union.

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Romania's next leader?

The founder of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) party came in first place in the first round of the election earlier this month, taking 40.96% of the vote - almost 20 points ahead of Mr Dan in second place.

Mr Dan - currently the mayor of Bucharest - is running as an independent in the presidential election.

He has pledged to clamp down on corruption, is staunchly pro-EU and NATO, and has said support for Ukraine is vital for its own security.

Presidential candidate Nicusor Dan. Pic: AP/Eduard Vinatoru

Image: Nicusor Dan is currently the mayor of Bucharest and is running as an independent. Pic: AP / Eduard Vinatoru



Trump says he has call with Putin on Monday

Despite Mr Simion's commanding win in the first round of voting, opinion polls hold that the two candidates are virtually tied.

A poll by AtlasIntel on Friday gave Mr Dan a narrow lead, with the mayor predicted to get 48.7% of votes to Mr Simion's 47.8%.

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