Romania election preview: who is running for president?

Far-right nationalist George Simion could become Romania's next president. Just days before the election, he hailed Donald trump at the campaign headquarters and denied allegations that he is a Russian spy.

“I would like for Romanians to feel that the leaders are rule-makers, not simply rule-takers,” the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians leader told reporters Wednesday in Bucharest. Formed in 2019, the party known by its initials AUR proclaims to stand for “family, nation, faith, and freedom.”

The 38-year-old candidate, who is banned from entering Moldova and Ukraine over security concerns, strongly denied "all the allegations regarding any kind of connections with the Russian intelligence officers.”

Sunday’s presidential election has 13 candidates and is expected to go to a 8 December runoff, potentially pitting Simion against Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who is backed by Romania's largest party, the Social Democratic Party, or PSD.

The European Union and NATO member country will also hold parliamentary elections on 1 December that will determine Romania's next government and prime minister. The presidential role carries a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in areas such as national security and foreign policy.

Ciolacu said he has a “clear plan for a more developed Romania that leaves no one behind, an internal plan based on economic growth on investments and a plan for a more respected and influential Romania abroad.”

“Unfortunately, we have political leaders who challenge our presence in the EU and NATO […] I believe that extremists must be politically isolated and not taken into account by any government,” the PSD leader added.

Besides Ciolacu and Simion, other key candidates are Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party, former NATO deputy general secretary Mircea Geoana, who is running independently, and Nicolae Ciuca, a former army general and prime minister of the centre-right National Liberal Party, which is currently in a tense coalition with the PSD.

Some voters feel that none of the candidates in Sunday’s race are addressing issues they view as significant.