Romania’s electoral marathon: What to expect from the 2024 vote
Romania is preparing for an electoral marathon: on Sunday, November 24, the first round of the presidential elections will be held, followed by parliamentary elections on December 1.
Just a week later, the second round of the presidential elections will take place if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote.
In the Republic of Moldova, 59 polling stations will be available for Romania’s presidential elections, seven more than in the previous election. Of these, 16 will be located in Chișinău.
In total, 950 polling stations will be opened outside Romania by the authorities in Bucharest.
Fourteen candidates are competing in Romania's presidential elections, with the top eight participating tonight in the only televised debate before the vote, organised by Digi24 and the University of Cluj.
The debate will feature Marcel Ciolacu, candidate of the governing Social Democratic Party; Nicolae Ciucă of the Liberal Party; Mircea Geoană, an independent and former NATO Deputy Secretary General; Elena Lasconi from the Save Romania Union (USR); George Simion, leader of the far-right AUR party, banned from entering the Republic of Moldova until 2028; Kelemen Hunor, leader of the Hungarian minority party; and former Liberal leaders Ludovic Orban and Cristian Diaconescu.
Opinion polls in Romania are widely seen as unreliable, but most point to a victory for Social Democrat Marcel Ciolacu, who may face George Simion, leader of the far-right nationalist AUR party, in the second round.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
