Romania is voting today in parliamentary elections, BNR reported. The vote is taking place in an atmosphere of unprecedented political tension in the country, which was triggered by the surprise result of last Sunday's presidential election, won by nationalist and pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu.
The parliamentary elections in Romania are considered decisive not only for the country's foreign policy orientation, but also for the stability of NATO's eastern flank, of which Bucharest is a key part.
8,168 candidates from 31 parties will compete for entry into Romania's 466-seat bicameral parliament.
The parliamentary elections are being held on Romania's Unification Day and its national holiday, and come a week after the country's electoral shock caused by the victory of anti-NATO and pro-Russian ultranationalist Calin Georgescu, who kicked out the battle for the palace "Cotroceni” the candidates of the two ruling parties – Social Democratic and Liberal. The leader of the center-right "Union for Saving Romania" ranked second. Elena Lasconi.
The Constitutional Court has ordered a recount of all nearly 9.5 million ballots, and a decision on whether to annul the election is expected on December 2.
Today's difficult-to-predict vote is a serious test not only for the parties from the ruling coalition, but also for the entire political system of Romania, journalist Stiliyan Deyanov, correspondent of BNT in Bucharest, commented to BNR.
"It is very important who will be first. The polls from before the first round of the presidential elections gave a rather large lead to the Social Democratic Party – with about 30% and the nationalist party that was pro-Russian is now trumping AUR – was by about 20%. However, now there are wells that give the lead even to AUR".
Voting abroad started already on Saturday, with a higher turnout compared to the vote 4 years ago. The first results are expected after 9 p.m. Bulgarian and Romanian time.