The latest electoral poll on the May presidential elections in Romania confirms the leading position of far-right candidate and AUR leader George Simion (26% of the options expressed by those polled), followed closely by the ruling coalition’s candidate Crin Antonescu (23%). 

The independent candidate Nicusor Dan, the current mayor of Bucharest, comes in third place with 19%, followed by Victor Ponta (independent, 16%), Hotnews.ro reported. The candidate of the reformist party USR would get 8% of the votes.

The key findings of this poll are the low score of Simion (seen at above 30% by the other surveys) and the strong position of the ruling coalition’s candidate, Antonescu. 

The poll was carried out before USR changed its mind and withdrew support for its candidate, Elena Lasconi, to back Nicusor Dan. The outcome of this move is still unclear.

The poll also precincts that the only challenger able to defeat George Simion is the ruling coalition’s candidate. 

The survey provides the scores in several second-round scenarios:

• Nicusor Dan vs George Simion: 46% – 54%
• Crin Antonescu vs George Simion: 52% – 48%
• Nicusor Dan vs Victor Ponta: 50% – 50%
• Nicusor Dan vs Crin Antonescu: 48% – 52%

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)