(ANSA-AFP) - BUCHAREST, 04 MAG - Polls opened in Romania on
Sunday in a rerun of November's annulled presidential election,
with a far-right candidate again expected to win the first
round. The Constitutional Court cancelled the last vote won by
NATO critic Calin Georgescu, who has been barred from the rerun,
with fellow far-right politician George Simion now looking like
the favourite. Polls opened at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) and close at
9:00 pm, with exit polls expected shortly afterwards. Georgescu
was excluded from the rerun following a massive TikTok campaign
and claims of Russian interference, sparking sometimes violent
protests. He has effectively been replaced by Simion, one of 11
presidential hopefuls vying for the largely ceremonial but
influential foreign policy post in Sunday's first round. The
latest opinion polls put Simion, leader of the nationalist AUR
party, on course to win the rerun first-round vote. He has said
he hopes to turn what he calls last year's "stolen" election
into a victory on Sunday. Campaigning on a promise to put
Romania first, the 38-year-old frontrunner is expected to pick
up at least some of Georgescu's votes. "This time, we'll steal
the second round from them," said Simion, pressing for a
first-round win, which would require more than 50 percent of the
vote. Simion has largely campaigned online, partly in a bid to
woo Romania's influential overseas voters. (ANSA-AFP).
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