Two exit polls show that a pro-European local mayor clearly won the Bucharest mayoral race on Sunday, which if confirmed would be a relief for the government which is implementing unpopular austerity measures and facing widespread voter apathy.
Ciprian Ciucu, 47, the Liberal Party mayor of Bucharest District 6 won about 32% of the vote according to CURS-Avangarde and INSCOP opinion polls well ahead of his nearest rival, Daniel Baluta, the Social Democrat mayor of District 4, who scored about 26%, according to the polls.
“First of all, in this campaign, I want to give a message of unity to the parties in the government coalition, especially for the center-right ones, we will have a lot of work to do at the Bucharest City Hall, we will have many projects to pass,” Ciucu said after the polls were published.
“I want to make Bucharest the long-term project of my life,” he added.
Ciucu won two consecutive mandates as mayor of District 6, and was re-elected with over 70% of the vote in the 2024 elections. He is known as a reformer focusing on investments, administrative reorganization and urban regeneration.
Journalist Anca Alexandrescu who was supported by the anti-establishment and anti-Ukraine party, AUR which is polling first nationally came third according to the polls. At least one pre-election poll had put her in pole position.
Alexandrescu gained notoriety in the past year over her support for Calin Georgescu, a Russia-friendly, NATO skeptic who was reportedly helped by Russian interference to improbably win the first round of Nov. 2024 presidential elections, which were then cancelled. Russia has denied meddling.
Romania’s pro-European Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan on Sunday called on voters to vote “rationally and wisely” amid unease that the Romanian capital was poised to vote a candidate that is more aligned with Russia than the European Union.
“I urge Bucharest residents …. to make a rational vote, a wise vote,” the prime minister who is head of the center-right, pro-Western Liberal Party said.
If confirmed, the result is a boost for the prime minister, leader of the Liberal Party, who has been unpopular over his austerity measures. President Nicusor Dan’s preferred candidate, Catalin Drula only came fourth, a political setback for the president .
Voter turnout was about 33.1%, lower than the previous election of 2024.
