Romania votes in second round of presidential election – with Bucharest mayor and hard-right Trump supporter almost tied in polls

Polls have opened for the second round of Romania’s presidential election – with little separating centrist candidate Nicusor Dan from the populist George Simion.

Voting began at 7am (5am UK time) and is set to end at 9pm (7pm UK time), with exit polls to follow soon after.

Romania’s last presidential election was annulled six months ago after the country’s highest court decided that the leading candidate, nationalist Calin Georgescu, should be disqualified due to allegations of electoral interference by Russia.

Mr Simion, 38, told Sky News he supports US President Donald Trump. He also opposes military aid to Ukraine and has been critical of the European Union.

The founder of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) party came in first place in the first round of the election earlier this month, taking 40.96% of the vote – almost 20 points ahead of Mr Dan in second place.

Mr Dan – currently the mayor of Bucharest – is running as an independent in the presidential election.

He has pledged to clamp down on corruption, is staunchly pro-EU and NATO, and has said Romania’s support for Ukraine is vital for its own security.

Read more from Sky News:
Austria wins Eurovision
Trump says he has call with Putin on Monday

Despite Mr Simion’s commanding win in the first round of voting, opinion polls hold that the two candidates are virtually tied.

A poll by AtlasIntel on Friday gave Mr Dan a narrow lead, with the mayor predicted to get 48.7% of votes to Mr Simion’s 47.8%.