Presidential Frontrunner Blames EU Candidate for Vote Rigging

(MENAFN) Romanian presidential hopeful George Simion has alleged that Moldova’s pro-European Union administration is manipulating the outcome of Sunday’s decisive electoral round.

Simion, who is critical of EU integration and leads the nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), emerged at the top of the May 4 presidential election redo, garnering over 40 percent of the total ballots.

Approximately one-third of Moldova's residents hold dual Moldovan-Romanian nationality.

Simion’s followers have expressed concern about the unusually high participation rate among Romanian voters based in Moldova, noting that turnout levels appear to be nearly triple what was observed during the same timeframe in the election's initial phase.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Simion declared: “Enough campaigning – now we have to stop the massive fraud! The government in Moldova has started stealing votes. We won’t let them!” This message underscores the AUR leader’s suspicion of foul play by Moldovan authorities.

The AUR contends that Moldova’s governing Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) is actively steering voters toward Simion’s rival, Nicusor Dan, the current mayor of Bucharest.

According to the party, “By 1 p.m., over 50,000 votes had been cast by the diaspora – an increase of almost 70% compared to the first round. These figures are no coincidence,” as noted in a statement on the AUR’s official site.

Additionally, the AUR has charged a Moldova’s news broadcaster with conducting “an illegal and partisan campaign in favor of the establishment candidate,” accusing the media outlet of misleading voters “under the guise of independent journalism.”

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