BUCHAREST
\nAfter triumphing in the first round of the presidential election, Romania\u2019s far-right candidate George Simion is tipped to win this weekend\u2019s run-off unless his pro-European rival can mobilise the masses who abstained last time. Simion — a big fan of US President Donald Trump — did better than expected in the first round, taking 40.9 percent of the vote on May 4.
\nThe 38-year-old is slated to take about 55 percent in Sunday\u2019s vote, according to the only poll published so far.Trailing far behind is the centrist mayor of Bucharest Nicusor Dan. Dan, 55, hopes undecided voters will turn out for him in a bid to prevent a nationalist shift under the eurosceptic Simion, who opposes sending aid to neighbouring Ukraine.
\nThe ballot will be closely watched internationally following the rare annulment of the vote held in November in the European Union country of 19 million people, which is a key NATO member.\u201dSimion is clearly the favourite,\u201d Remus Stefureac, director of the polling company INSCOP Research, told media. He secured \u201ctwice as many votes as his rival in the first round\u201d due in part to his popularity among expatriate voters, he said.
\nSimion is also likely to benefit from Dan not having the explicit backing of the pro-European camp, which had supported another candidate.
\nBut concern among voters about the potential political and economic implications of a far-right victory might work in Dan\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BUCHAREST After triumphing in the first round of the presidential election, Romania\u2019s far-right candidate George Simion is tipped to win this weekend\u2019s run-off unless his pro-European rival can mobilise the masses who abstained last time. Simion — a big fan of US President Donald Trump — did better than expected in the first round, taking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-478013","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n