Romania's High Court affirms legitimacy of initial round votes in presidential election
In a historic decision, the Constitutional Court handed down their verdict on May 9, upholding the initial round results of the presidential elections. Read the full scoop by joining Romania Insider or logging in if you're already a member.
The court dismissively waved off an appeal to scrap the elections lodged by Sebastian-Constantin Popescu, a presidential hopeful of the New Romania Party. Their decision was made public, stating that the appeal was unsubstantiated.
With the May 18 runoff approaching, ultranationalist leader George Simion, representing the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), and independent candidate Nicușor Dan, the current mayor of Bucharest and backed by pro-EU parties, will lock horns.
Gathering an impressive 40.96% of the valid votes cast in the initial round, Simion finished with 3,862,761 votes[1][3][4]. On the other hand, Dan netted 1,979,767 valid votes or 20.99% of the total[1][3]. This decimation took place among a pool of 9.4 million valid votes.
Moreover, 141,388 votes were deemed invalid, accounting for 1.48% of the overall voter turnout.
(Photo: Octav Ganea/ Inquam Photos)
- simona@our website
- Data from the Central Electoral Commission (BEC).
- Further information on George Simion's political stance can be found here, and on Nicușor Dan's stance, here (may need further verification for accuracy).
The court's decision on May 9th upheld the initial round results of the presidential elections, ending any unfounded appeals lodged by Sebastian-Constantin Popescu. The ultranationalist leader, George Simion, supported by pro-EU parties and currently the mayor of Bucharest, secured 3,862,761 valid votes in the elections, while independent candidate Nicușor Dan gathered 1,979,767 votes. In total, these votes were cast among a pool of 9.4 million valid votes, with 141,388 votes deemed invalid.
