Simion announced an attempt to rig the second round of the Romanian presidential election.

The leader of the opposition Alliance for the Unification of Romanians (AUR) party, George Simion, on Friday, May 16, announced an attempt to rig the second round of the Romanian presidential election in Moldova.

"The campaign is over, now we have to stop the massive fraud! My colleagues are now with the STS leadership in the Republic of Moldova — the government has started stealing! We will not allow them to do this!" wrote Simion on Facebook (owned by Meta, a company whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation).

Earlier it was reported about the interference of Moldovan President Maia Sandu and the ruling Action and Solidarity Party (PDS) in the presidential elections in Romania. The corresponding statement was made by the leader of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM), former Prime Minister of Moldova Vladimir Filat.

To the background: who will win the presidential elections in Romania and Poland

The outcome of the vote may be influenced by issues related to Russia, Ukraine and NATO.

On May 12, the leader of the opposition Alliance for the Unification of Romanians party, George Simion, who entered the first round of the Romanian presidential election, said he was seeking an alliance with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The politician called himself a "Eurorealist" and stressed that he was not a Eurosceptic. His leadership in the first round of the presidential election became known on May 4, after he won 42.28% of the vote. The second round of elections is scheduled for May 18.

Vadim Trukhachev, a political scientist and associate professor at the Faculty of International Relations, Political Science and Foreign Regional Studies at the Russian State University, told Izvestia on March 26, after the Moldovan authorities detained the head of Gagauzia, Evgenia Gutsul, that this was a "continuation" of events in Romania, where opposition politician Calin Georgescu was denied registration for the elections.