site.btaRomania Votes at Presidential Elections Run-off

Romania votes on Sunday at a run-off elections for president. Polling stations in the country, which total 18,979, opened at 7 a.m. and will remain open until 9 p.m.. In the capital Bucharest alone, 1,289 polling stations are open.

Overseas voting, which lasts for three days, started on Friday. The first polling station to open was in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. On the first day, a record high turnout was recorded among the Romanian diaspora.

According to the Permanent Electoral Authority, the total number of voters on the permanent electoral rolls was 17,988,218. The number of Romanians with an address abroad eligible to vote is 1,016,327.

The two candidates vying for the seat in the Cotroceni Palace are 38-year-old leader of the nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians party George Simion and 55-year-old independent candidate and Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan.

In the first round of elections on May 4, Simion, who is the leader of the second largest party in the legislation, came first with around 40.96% of the vote, while Dan took second place with 20.99% of the vote.

Polls released just days before the run-off gave an equal or nearly equal result between the two candidates.

The presidential elections in Romania are being held for the second time after last December the Constitutional Court annulled the first round held in November and ordered the electoral process to start again. The annulment of the elections has plunged the country into its worst political crisis in decades, observers note.