Simion
accuses Moldova of manipulating Romanian election as vote goes to wire
Turnout is
high in Moldova, a nation with many Romanian voters who did not back
ultranationalist Simion in the first round.
May 16, 2025
7:38 pm CET
By Carmen
Paun
https://www.politico.eu/article/simion-accuses-moldova-manipulating-romanian-election-vote-split/
Hard-right
Romanian presidential hopeful George Simion on Friday cried foul over early
voting in crucial polling stations in Moldova — home to many Romanian citizens
— in a sign of increasing nerves about an election that is set to come down to
the wire.
Simion, an
ultranationalist fan of U.S. President Donald Trump, won nearly 61 percent of
the votes of the important Romanian diaspora in the first round of the election
on May 4.
Moldova,
however, bucked that trend and supported his centrist rival Nicușor Dan. It is
home to a significant number of Romanian citizens and its politics are heavily
influenced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Simion opposes military aid to
Kyiv.
While Simion
expressed confidence he would win by landslide on Thursday, POLITICO’s Poll of
Polls suggests he has only a narrow 3-point lead ahead of this Sunday’s second
round.
In an
outspoken attack, Simion accused the anti-Russian government in Moldova of
trying to manipulate the vote against him on the first day of voting abroad.
“The ‘campaign’ is over, we now need to stop the immense fraud!” he wrote in a
Facebook post.
The
allegations come as early turnout among Romanians voting in Moldova is nearly
three times the level of the comparable period in the first round on May 4,
according to data from the Romanian Permanent Electoral Authority.
Simion wrote
his party colleagues were meeting with representatives of Romania’s Special
Telecommunications Service, which provides technical IT support for polling
stations, adding “in [the Republic of] Moldova the government started stealing.
We’re not letting them.”
Bucharest
mayor Dan, who’s running as an independent on a centrist platform, won 53
percent of votes in Moldova the first round; Simion only scraped 12.5
percent.
The latest
polls in Romania have shown Dan closing in the gap with Simion, and even
passing him.
Simion is
banned from entering Moldova until 2028 for national security reasons, given
his years’ long campaign to reunite Moldova with Romania. A Moldovan court is
set to consider Simion’s request to lift the ban on Monday.
A Moldovan
government spokesperson responded to Simion’s allegations by calling on
politicians to refrain from accusations that could compromise the vote.
“We continue
to encourage everybody to go out to vote and make their voice heard. Without
fear,” said Moldovan government spokesperson Daniel Vodă, according to
Romania’s Digi24 channel.
The Romanian
Special Telecommunications Service said after meeting with representatives of
Simion’s party, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, that everything had
been set up properly for the election.
Simion’s
claims of potential fraud raised concerns among some Dan supporters that the
AUR leader was paving the way for not recognizing the results of the election
if he loses Sunday.
“It’s
possible that this candidate revealed his plan for the (very likely) situation
that he would lose the elections: he won’t admit defeat, invoking
‘manipulation’ by ‘subservient’ TV channels. By [intelligence] services. By the
‘system,’” Vlad Voiculescu, a Romanian member of the European Parliament from
the Save Romania Union party, which is backing Dan, wrote Friday on Facebook.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário