Sovereignist frontrunners lead Romania's presidential election; Coalition's candidate lags in fourth place.
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Heads up, folks! A fresh poll conducted by Verifield has shuffled the deck in Romania's presidential race, revealing a cracking contest for the second spot. Here's the lowdown.
George Simion, the frontman for the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), holds a commanding lead, garnering 35% of the votes, as per the survey commissioned by Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan. In a close chase is independent candidate Victor Ponta, who clocks in at 21.1%, followed closely by the city's mayor himself with 20.8%.
Notably, the joint candidate of the PSD-PNL-UDMR, Crin Antonescu, finds himself in fourth place with 16.4%. Meanwhile, USR president Elena Lasconi, who made it to the second round in last year's cancelled elections, gathers only 4.3% in this Verifield poll.
Nicusor Dan shared the poll results on Facebook, emphasizing transparency, and the poll was conducted between March 24-28, 2025, involving a sample of 1,100 people. Apparently, this poll excludes pro-Russian politician Calin Georgescu, who was disqualified from running. George Simion supposedly enjoys Georgescu's backing in the presidential race.
Intriguingly, supporters of Nicusor Dan urged Elena Lasconi to withdraw from the race and rally behind the mayor, strengthening his prospects of reaching the runoff round.
The poll suggests a highly contested fight for second place. For contrast, a previous CURS poll had George Simion leading with 29%, followed by Crin Antonescu (22%), Nicusor Dan (18%), Victor Ponta (13%), and Elena Lasconi (12%), conducted between March 19-22. The electoral campaign for the 2025 presidential elections in Romania is set to commence on April 4 and conclude on May 3 at 7:00 AM. Voting for the first round will take place on May 4, with the second round slated for May 18.
Stay tuned for more updates as the race unfolds!
Sources: Verifield poll, CURS poll, Nicusor Dan Facebook post
(Photo credits: George Simion, Victor Ponta, Nicusor Dan, Crin Antonescu on Facebook)
- In the previously released CURS poll, Crin Antonescu, the UDMR's joint candidate, was placed higher than his current standing in the Verifield poll, indicating a significant shift in the electoral landscape, with George Simion leading and Crin Antonescu in fourth place.
- The race for the second spot in the upcoming general-news 2025 presidential elections in Romania promises to be a tense contest, given the close margin between Crin Antonescu, the PSD-PNL-UDMR's joint candidate, and independent candidate Victor Ponta and the city's mayor, Nicusor Dan.
- As the Verifield poll results reveal, the former UDMR president and PSD-PNL-UDMR's joint candidate, Crin Antonescu, only garnered 100 votes less than Victor Ponta, making the electoral runoff round a crucial juncture in Romanian politics.
