Romania Restarts Presidential Elections

(MENAFN) Romanian citizens are returning to the voting booths for the initial phase of the presidential elections following a ruling by the Constitutional Court.

The court annulled the previous election, which had been conducted in November and December, stating its constitutional responsibility to guarantee the integrity and legitimacy of the election procedures.

According to the Permanent Electoral Authority, about 17.99 million citizens are authorized to cast their ballots.

Polling stations across the country will open at 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) and will close at 9 p.m..

For Romanians residing outside the country, voting commenced on Friday. By late Saturday, more than 400,000 individuals abroad had participated in the election, Romanian media reported. Over 1 million expatriates are expected to take part in the process.

Opinion polls indicate that right-wing hopeful George Simion is projected to take the lead among the 11 contenders running for the presidency.

Previously, on November 24, Romania held the first round of the presidential contest, where Calin Georgescu, a far-right candidate with pro-Russian leanings, emerged victorious.

However, on December 6, the Constitutional Court overturned both the results of the first round and the presidential run-off scheduled for December 8, citing evidence that the electoral process had been tampered with by a campaign backed by Russia in support of Georgescu.

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