Far right in strong position as Romania votes in presidential election

Social Democrat Marcel Ciolacu and far-right George Simion are the most likely to move on to a run-off on December 8.

The first round of presidential elections has begun in Romania, with voters choosing a replacement for the outgoing President Klaus Iohannis.

Romanians are choosing between 13 candidates on Sunday, with the top two moving on to a second round of voting on December 8 if no single candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round.

That second presidential vote may be between current Social Democratic Party (PSD) Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and the far-right leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), George Simion.

By 12:00 GMT, Romania’s central election bureau said the voter turnout was 27 percent. Romanians have until 19:00 GMT to cast their votes.

Ciolacu has been leading in the polls with 25 percent compared to Simion, who according to opinion polls holds the support of 15 to 19 percent of the country.

Romanian political analyst Cristian Pirvulescu said that the AUR party could get a boost in the parliamentary election slated for December 1 if Simion performs well in the presidential vote, and other right-leaning voters could coalesce around Simion if he reaches the run-off.

“Romanian democracy is in danger for the first time since the fall of communism in 1989,” Pirvulescu told the news agency AFP.

Ciolacu’s PSD has shaped the country’s politics since 1990, but this election comes at a tumultuous time in the European Union member state amid rising inflation and the ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine.

Simion has been able to tap into an affordability crisis in the country. While inflation is trending downwards from a record 10 percent last year, the far-right candidate has tapped into voter frustrations about economic issues.

Inflation is expected to be 5.5 percent by the end of 2024.

Simion opposes sending military aid to Ukraine – a country with which Romania shares a 650-kilometre (400-mile) border.

Simion, who has repeatedly praised United States President-elect donald trumpyou have tapped into a hard right message that appears to be growing in popularity in both the US and Europe.

Borrowing from the Trump playbook, Simion has warned of possible electoral fraud, and has also opposed sending military aid to Ukraine.

Simion has also campaigned for unification with Moldova, which has renewed a five-year ban on him entering the country.

“We are at a point where Romania can easily divert or slip towards a populist regime because [voter] dissatisfaction is pretty large among a lot of people from all social strata,” Cristian Andrei, a political consultant, told The Associated Press news agency. “And the temptation for any regime, any leader, will be to go on a populist road.”