Source : NEW INDIAN EXPRESS NEWS
Dan founded the reformist Save Romania Union party in 2016 but later left, and is running independently on a pro-EU ticket reaffirming Western ties, support for Ukraine and fiscal reform.
The presidential role carries a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy. The winner of Sunday’s race will be charged with nominating a new prime minister after Marcel Ciolacu stepped down following the failure of his coalition’s candidate to advance to the runoff.
After coming fourth in last year’s canceled race, Simion backed Georgescu who was banned in March from standing in the redo. Simion then surged to front-runner in the May 4 first round after becoming the standard-bearer for the hard right.
Simion, also a former activist who campaigned for reunification with neighboring Moldova, says he would focus on reforms: slashing red tape, reducing bureaucracy and taxes. But he insists that his main goal is to restore democracy. “My platform is to return to democracy, to the will of the people,” he said.
The AUR party he leads says it stands for “family, nation, faith, and freedom” and rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election. It has since grown to become the second-largest party in the Romanian legislature.
To his critics, Simion is a pro-Russian extremist who threatens Romania’s longstanding alliances in the EU and NATO. But in an Associated Press interview, he rejected the accusations, saying Russia is his country’s biggest threat and that he wants Romania to be treated as “equal partners” in Brussels.
“I don’t think he is a pro-Russian candidate, I also don’t think that he’s an anti-Russian candidate,” said Claudiu Tufis, an associate professor of political science at the University of Bucharest. “I think what is driving him is … his focus on what I call identity politics.”
In the first-round vote, Simion won a massive 61% of Romania’s large diaspora vote, with his calls to patriotism resonating with Romanians who moved abroad in search of better opportunities.
Hours after voting opened Friday, Simion accused the Moldovan government of election fraud, claims that were quickly rejected by Moldovan and Romanian authorities. “These statements are intended to sow distrust and hostility, with the aim of influencing the election process,” Romania’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
SOURCE :- NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
