The election result could reshape the direction of the pro-EU and NATO member nation bordering war-torn Ukraine.
Romanians have begun casting ballots in a tense presidential election run-off that pits a pro-Trump nationalist who opposes military aid to Ukraine against a pro-European Union centrist.
Polls opened on Sunday at 7am local time (04:00 GMT) and will close at 9pm (18:00 GMT) in the high-stakes second round of the elections that will impact Romania’s geopolitical direction.
Hard-right nationalist George Simion, 38, who opposes military aid to neighbouring Ukraine and is critical of EU leadership, decisively swept the first round of the presidential election, triggering the collapse of a pro-Western coalition government. That led to significant capital outflows.
Romania’s top court annulled the first round results in December over accusations of Russian interference. The court also disqualified leading nationalist candidate Calin Georgescu, making way for Simion, who is a self-proclaimed fan of United States President Donald Trump.
Centrist Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, 55, who has pledged to clamp down on corruption and is staunchly pro-EU and NATO, is competing against Simion. He has said Romania’s support for Ukraine is vital for its own security against a growing Russian threat.
An opinion poll on Friday suggested Dan is slightly ahead of Simion for the first time since the first round in a tight race that will depend on turnout and the sizeable Romanian diaspora.
‘Battle between nationalist populism and a centralist’
Reporting from the capital, Bucharest, Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego said this election is being pitched as a battle between nationalist populism and a centralist.
“The reality is that Romania, an EU and NATO member, shares a border with war-torn Ukraine, the longest among EU members. And that also makes it one of the most vulnerable within the bloc,” she said.
Some analysts have also warned that online disinformation has been rife again ahead of Sunday’s vote.
Elena Calistru, a political analyst, told Al Jazeera: “We have to look at what is happening online. And there we have seen a lot of misinformation.”
“We have seen a lot of … coordinated inauthentic behaviour. We have seen a lot of foreign interference in our elections,” she said.
‘Pro-European president’?
The president of the country has considerable powers, not least being in charge of the defence council that decides on military aid. He will also have oversight of foreign policy, with the power to veto EU votes that require unanimity.
Daniela Plesa, 62, a public employee, told the AFP news agency in Bucharest on Friday she wanted a president “to promote the interests of the country”, complaining that “the European Union demands and demands”.
Andreea Nicolescu, 30, working in advertising, said she wished for “things to calm down a bit” and “a pro-European president”.
Rallies of tens of thousands ahead of the elections have demanded that the country maintain its pro-EU stance.
Other protests, also drawing tens of thousands, have condemned the decision to annul last year’s vote and the subsequent barring of far-right candidate Georgescu.
The cancellation was criticised by the Trump administration, and Simion has said his prime minister pick would be Georgescu, who favours nationalisation and an openness towards Russia.
The vote in Romania comes on a day when Poland also votes in the first round of the presidential election, expected to be led by pro-EU Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and conservative historian Karol Nawrocki.
Victory for Simion and/or Trzaskowski would expand a cohort of eurosceptic leaders that already includes prime ministers in Hungary and Slovakia amid a political shift in Central Europe that could widen rifts in the EU.