Romanian Prime Minister Ciolacu ahead of the first round of presidential elections By Reuters
Written by Luiza Ilie
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu looks set to win the majority of votes in the first round of Sunday’s presidential election, as the Black Sea nation is likely to back Ukraine in the second round on December 8.
While exit polls put Social Democrat Ciolacu, 56, ahead with a solid 25%, the identity of his opponents in the second round was uncertain.
Elena Lasconi, 52, was at 18% in the exit polls, closely followed by two right-wing candidates, Calin Georgescu, 62, and George Simion, 38, at 16% and 15% respectively.
Exit poll data does not capture the preferences of hundreds of thousands of Romanians living and voting abroad. Simion, who opposes military aid to Ukraine, is popular among foreign voters.
By 2100 GMT around 64% of the votes had been counted, and there were probably hours to go before a clear result emerged.
Romania’s president has a narrow role that gives him the power to control defense spending – which could be a difficult issue as Bucharest is under pressure to meet NATO spending targets during Donald Trump’s second term as US president while trying to reduce a huge budget deficit. .
Lasconi told supporters after the polls were released that he hoped the election would go ahead. “But as you can see the results are very tight, let’s not wait until tomorrow’s results to be happy.”
The campaign focused on the rising cost of living, Romania has the EU’s largest share of people at risk of poverty.
Lasconi, a former journalist, joined the Save Romania Union (USR) in 2018 and became the head of the group this year. He believes in increasing defense spending and helping Ukraine, and polls suggest he will beat Ciolacu in a runoff.
But if Simion or Georgescu come second, analysts say Lasconi is likely to urge his supporters to vote for Ciolacu to prevent a landslide victory. Georgescu has made pro-Russian and anti-NATO comments.
“It will be a tough competition, as the leader of the Social Democrat is at great risk of campaigning because he is the current Prime Minister,” said political analyst Radu Magdin.
