The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, arrived on Sunday, November 24, at the head of the first round of the presidential elections in Romania, according to two exit polls that place his rivals tied.
When the polling stations closed in the early afternoon, the head of the Social Democratic government obtained 25% of the votes, ahead of Elena Lasconi (18%), the center-right mayor of a small town. For their part, the two far-right candidates, the pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu and George Simion (Alliance for the Unity of Romanians), failed, according to these two surveys, to qualify for the second round, obtaining only 16% and 15 % each.
Ciolacu, a 56-year-old pro-European, thanked his voters for giving him this first place, a result “clear”at the same time he called to wait for the complete count to find out who he will face on December 8. METROme Lasconi, a 52-year-old former journalist turned politician, also urged caution. “The results are very close, it is not yet time to celebrate”said.
“Vital” role
Mr. Simion, whose polls before the first round had put him in the running for the second round, did not admit defeat. “We will see the results of the polls at 11:00 p.m.” (10:00 p.m. Paris time), he declared, although already promising “two more battles”during the legislative elections of 1Ahem December and a week later for the second round of the presidential elections.
After ten years in power of Klaus Iohannis, a fervent supporter of kyiv and tireless defender of European values, these elections carry a lot at stake, although the office of president is essentially ceremonial.
Romania, which shares a 650-kilometer border with Ukraine and borders the Black Sea, plays a strategic role ” vital “recalls in a study by the New Strategy Center think tank. Both for NATO, which houses more than 5,000 soldiers, and for the transit of Ukrainian grain.
