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.
Voting began to pick up in the afternoon with a turnout of about 23.5% at 4 p:m, about two percent less than elections last year. A low voter turnout is believed to favor anti-establishment candidates.
Journalist Anca Alexandrescu, running for Bucharest mayor is supported by the anti-establishment and anti-Ukraine party, AUR which is polling first nationally. At least one pre-election poll 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.
Sociologist Marius Pieleanu on Sunday however said it was too early to predict a success for anti-establishment candidate: ”This ghost which is haunting Romania, has not been confirmed yet in Bucharest,” and an apparent reference to parties that want to move Romania away from the European Union and NATO.
President Nicușor Dan, a centrist who served as mayor before he was elected president in May called the elections ‘symbolic… guarding national politics.”
“I voted for a Romania in the West, these values that I believe define us and because it is a city that I have known for a long time and I have campaigned for a long time, knowing the temptations that are at the City Hall of the Capital. I voted for someone who I know for sure does not come close to the area of corruption and real estate mafia”, he said.
Anca Alexandrescu said the electoral campaign had been “a gift. It is the (best) experience of my life so far. I am emotional and I am convinced that we will be able to do justice in Bucharest. I have faith that God will not leave us and together with the citizens of Bucharest we will put Bucharest first and we will do justice”, she said.
