Romanians voted on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election that could propel hard-right eurosceptic George Simion to power in a ballot that will test the rise of Donald Trump-style nationalism in the European Union.
Simion, 38, opposes military aid to neighboring Ukraine, is critical of the EU leadership and says he is aligned with the US president’s Make America Great Again movement.
Five months after a first attempt to hold the election was canceled after the first round because of alleged Russian interference in favor of far-right frontrunner Calin Georgescu, since banned from standing again, his heir apparent Simion leads opinion polls, riding a wave of popular anger.
About 1.98 million Romanians, or 11% of registered voters, had cast ballots by 0710 GMT, data showed. Voting will end at 9 p.m. (1800 GMT) with exit polls to follow immediately and preliminary results expected later in the evening.
Simion voted alongside Georgescu, who called the election a “fraud” and urged people to take their country back. As dozens of people thronged outside the voting station chanting “Calin for president,” Simion said his vote was “to restore democracy.”
Simion is polling at around 30%, a comfortable lead but well short of the 50% he needs to avoid a run-off on May 18.
“George Simion equals Calin Georgescu, he gets my vote,” said Aurelia, 66, a pensioner who declined to give her last name. She said she felt “humiliated” by the cancellation of November’s first round.
“Everything is lacking here. My children are not here: Did they leave to work abroad because things were so good here?”
Political analysts said an ultimate victory for Simion could isolate the country, erode private investment and destabilize NATO’s eastern flank, where Ukraine is fighting a three-year-old Russian invasion.
Simion’s main rivals are two centrists – former senator Crin Antonescu, 65, backed by the three parties in the current pro-Western government, and Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, 55, running as an independent on an anti-corruption platform.
Both are pro-EU and pro-NATO and back Ukraine. Victor Ponta, a former leftist prime minister who has turned conservative nationalist, is ranked fourth but could prove a dark horse.
MAGA-style leaders
Simion is not the only MAGA-style politician seeking election in central Europe. Karol Nawrocki, the presidential candidate backed by Poland’s main nationalist opposition party in a presidential election on May 18, met Trump this week.
If elected, they would expand a cohort of eurosceptic leaders that already includes the Hungarian and Slovak prime ministers.
“Romania and Poland are two important countries for the United States,” Simion told Reuters on Friday.
“We represent partners and we represent allies, both military and politically, to the current (US administration. This is why it is important for MAGA presidents to be in charge in Bucharest and Warsaw.”
Romania’s president has a semi-executive role that includes commanding the armed forces and chairing the security council that decides on military aid.
To date, Romania has donated a Patriot air defense battery to Kyiv, is training Ukrainian fighter pilots and has enabled the export of some 30 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta since Russia’s invasion.
The country’s president can also veto important EU votes and appoints the prime minister, chief judges, prosecutors and secret service heads.
The Trump administration has accused Romania of suppressing political opposition and lacking democratic values after November’s election was canceled on what Vice President JD Vance called “flimsy evidence.”
A team of US observers were in Bucharest for Sunday’s vote alongside diplomats and monitors from dozens of countries.
“There is clear evidence that there was some sort of nefarious activity going on in the November election,” James E. Trainor III, Commissioner of the US Federal Election Commission, told Reuters in Bucharest.
“Time is going to prove that … it was a good decision (to cancel). I know it’s an extreme step, but … what we see is that Romanian democracy is actually stronger because (it) had this bump in the road, but yet was resilient enough of a democracy to make its way through it.”