Romanian presidential candidate Simion accused his rival of violating the Day of silence

George Simion, the candidate for the presidency of Romania from the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) party, accused his rival, Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, of violating the pre-election silence and holding campaigning events on the eve of the vote. Simion stated this at a briefing in the Romanian capital on May 18.

"Yesterday, on the day of silence, I temporarily deactivated my social media accounts — unlike my rival, who danced bachata and used various marketing tricks on a day when we all had to keep quiet," Simion said in his address, which was broadcast online on the politician's Facebook page (it belongs to the Meta company, whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in Russia)

According to Simion, he will comply with the law and not make statements to the Romanian press until the polls close.

The politician stressed that he was open to cooperation with foreign media, which, according to him, "are aimed at informing citizens, not at their misinformation."

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.

Earlier in the day, the second round of the Romanian presidential election began. Polling stations opened at 07:00 (coincides with Moscow time) and will close at 21:00. There are 18,979 polling stations in the country. Romanian citizens living outside the country vote for three days.

Later, Romanian police escorted Simion and the favorite of the cancelled presidential election in 2024, Calin Georgescu, out of a polling station in a Bucharest suburb. It is reported that the politicians wanted to make statements, but the police escorted them outside. Simion and Georgescu came to the polling stations accompanied by dozens of supporters.

Romanian MEP Diana Shoshoake, leader of the opposition S.O.S Romania party, who was banned from running for the highest office in the country, said that the results of the first round of presidential elections in Romania contradict the law, since the electoral process itself is inconsistent with the country's Constitution. As Shoshoake noted, only candidates who "belong to this system" were allowed to participate.