Description: Latest election polls show far – right candidate George Simion’s convincing lead in the upcoming presidential elections. The public’s reaction comes as no surprise to the ousting of Calin Georgescu by Romania’s State Election Commission over allegations of Russian interference in the country’s elections. Simion is expected to enjoy the support of up to 31.5% of Romania’s voting body, which marked an uptick in his rating compared to the previously cancelled elections. The poll surprisingly was conducted by the polling institute Verified and was commissioned by opposing independent candidate Nicusor Dan. Victor Ponta, the remaining leftist opposing candidate to Simion, was projected to win up to 21.1% of the votes while Nicusor Dan was set at 20.8%.
Impact: Romania’s presidential elections have been a controversial topic since the disqualification of Calin Georgescu. Even though Simion never received Georgescu’s endorsement, the public’s natural response is to lean right since the ousting of the projected winner. The country finds itself on substantial political crossroads as the election would determine whether Romania would stay on its European designated path or wean towards more independent approach towards executing domestic and foreign policy. Romania is a crucial NATO ally in the CEE region as it borders Ukraine while also enjoying the benefits from its natural resources infrastructure, which represents a key asset to EU and NATO.