On Air Now

Chris Johnson

8:00am - Noon

  • 01723 336444

Now Playing

Listen Live Advertise

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

Sunday, 18 May 2025 05:44

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 presidential election was annulled six months ago after the country's highest court decided that the leading candidate, nationalist Calin Georgescu, should be disqualified due to allegations of electoral interference by Russia.

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

The founder of the far-right 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 Romania's support for Ukraine is vital for its own security.

Read more from Sky News:
Austria wins Eurovision
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%.

Sky News

(c) Sky News 2025: Romania votes in second round of presidential election - with

Share

Did you find this article useful?

This is the Coast is committed to providing a daily local news service for the Yorkshire Coast. We are a small locally owned and operated business which employs professional journalists and reporters. We do not receive any public funding or grants and we are entirely funded by our local commercial operations. We enjoy fabulous support from local businesses who work with us on their advertising and marketing campaigns, but the cost of providing high quality, well researched, fact checked local news coverage is significant.

If you appreciate what This is the Coast does, and would like to help support our journalism, please consider supporting us on a monthly basis today.

A small contribution from all our readers would really help support independent journalism for the Yorkshire Coast.

More from World News

Follow Us

Get Our Apps

Our Apps are now available for iOS, Android and Smart Speakers.

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play
  • Just ask Amazon Alexa
  • Available on Roku

Today's Weather

  • Scarborough

    Medium-level cloud

    High: 12°C | Low: 9°C

  • Filey

    Medium-level cloud

    High: 13°C | Low: 9°C

  • Whitby

    Medium-level cloud

    High: 13°C | Low: 9°C

  • Bridlington

    Medium-level cloud

    High: 14°C | Low: 9°C

  • Hornsea

    Medium-level cloud

    High: 13°C | Low: 9°C

  • Driffield

    Medium-level cloud

    High: 15°C | Low: 8°C

News

© Copyright 2025 This is the Coast Limited. This is the Coast is licensed by PRS & PPL to stream music online. Powered by Aiir.