Romania to see presidential run-off on Sunday

Romanians are preparing for the second round of the presidential elections, the last ballot in a busy election year.

Roxana Vasile, 03.12.2024, 14:00

Romanians are preparing for the second round of the presidential elections, the last ballot in a busy election year that saw European Parliamentary and local elections in June, followed by parliamentary and presidential elections later in the year. The three consecutive Sundays hosting the elections of president and Parliament, namely 24^th November and 1^st and 8^th December are a test for the authorities and society.

After the first round of the presidential elections, to the logistical challenges was added a huge surprise and a political and social scandal. Contrary to all predictions, the independent candidate Călin Georgescu and the leader of the centre-right Save Romania Union Elena Lasconi came first and second, respectively, in the race. Following a complaint about possible fraud, the Constitutional Court last Thursday requested the Central Electoral Bureau to conduct a vote recount. After the parliamentary elections on 1^st December, the constitutional judges met again on Monday and rejected the request for the cancellation of the results of the first round of voting. This means that Călin Georgescu and Elena Lasconi will race for the presidential seat on 8^th December.

Aged 62, Călin Georgescu graduated the agronomy faculty before holding a number of posts such as director of the National Centre for Sustainable Development, president of the European Research Centre of the Club of Rome, a director with the foreign ministry, an under-secretary in the environment ministry and a rapporteur at a United Nations office. Seen by a section of the Romanian electorate as a patriot and defender of Christian values and by others as anti-Semite and pro-Russian, he is against the European Union and NATO. Opinion polls ahead of the first round failed to pick up on his popularity, which is why his winning almost 23% of the votes cast in the first presidential ballot was such as shock.

It was also a surprise to see Elena Lasconi finish in place, with 19% of the votes. Born in 1972, she worked for over 20 years as a TV reporter, producer and news presenter. She entered politics in 2020, when she won the elections to become mayor of the small town of Câmpulung, in Argeș county, winning a second term in June this year. Her political rise to acquire countrywide fame was quick. Also in June, she was elected leader of the Save Romania Union, which now backs her for president of the country. Her career was not without controversy, one of the most notable being her position to support the traditional family, which generated tensions within her own party and in public, in relation to her daughter, who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. So she will face Călin Georgescu in the presidential run-off this Sunday in what looks like a very tight and tense race.