The right-wing candidate for president of Romania, George Simion, will win against the center mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan, points to a fresh public opinion poll.
Eurosceptic Simion definitely won the first circular of the vote on Sunday, gaining about 41% of the vote, resulting in the resignation of left-wing Prime Minister Marcel Ciolac and the collapse of the coalition government.
Dan, moving as an independent candidate, won 21% of the vote, and analysts say he will find it hard to distract the voters of Crin Antonescu, a centrist supported by the government, who placed third, and Victor Ponta, a erstwhile left-wing prime minister who became a conservative nationalist andfinished fourth.
A public opinion poll conducted by the Verifield polling institute commissioned by Dan showed that Simion is on the right track to score 54.8% of the vote in the second circular of the election compared to 45.2% of the vote on Dan.
The survey was conducted among 944 people on 6 May and the margin of mistake was 3.19%. Almost a 3rd of the respondents stated that they were not voting, that they were indecisive between the 2 candidates or refused to reply.
George Simion opposes military aid to neighbouring Ukraine, is critical of EU leaders, while he advocates Romania's membership of NATO and claims to be allied with the US president Donald Trump's “Make America large Again” movement.
Some analystssay that Simion's triumph can isolate Romania in the EU, weaken private investment and destabilise NATO's east flank.
Nicușor Dan, active on the anti-corruption platform, is simply a supporter of Romania's EU and NATO membership and further assistance to Kiev.
Source: Reuters
BIS improvement — survey Bulletin
