Presidential frontrunner claims EU candidate chaining voting

(MENAFN) George Simion, the Romanian presidential frontrunner and leader of the pro-Romanian, Euroskeptic Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), has accused Moldova’s pro-European government of attempting to rig Sunday’s presidential election runoff. Simion, who secured over 40% of the vote in the first round of the rerun on May 4, claims that the high early voter turnout from Moldovan-Romanian dual citizens is suspiciously inflated, with nearly three times the turnout compared to the previous round.

Simion took to Facebook, stating, “Enough campaigning – now we have to stop the massive fraud! The government in Moldova has started stealing votes. We won’t let them!” AUR alleges that Moldova’s ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) is directing votes toward Simion’s opponent, Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan. They also noted that by 1 p.m., over 50,000 votes had been cast by the Romanian diaspora, an increase of almost 70% compared to the first round.

The AUR further accused Moldova’s Pro TV Chisinau of running a biased campaign for Dan, calling it an illegal partisan effort disguised as independent journalism. The Moldovan government has denied any interference, with spokesman Daniel Voda urging all political parties to avoid making accusations that could undermine the election’s integrity.

The election rerun was ordered by Romania’s Constitutional Court after irregularities were found in the November vote, where independent candidate Calin Georgescu came in first. The court also cited intelligence reports about alleged Russian interference, which Moscow has denied.

Simion condemned the annulment of the 2024 election results as a “coup d’état” and remains banned from entering Moldova, which he describes as an “artificial country” that will never join the European Union.

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