Romania Is Headed for Tight Presidential Runoff, Poll Shows

Nicusor Dan at an electoral rally in Bucharest, Romania, on May 11.Photographer: Andrei Pungovschi/Bloomberg
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Romania’s presidential runoff is shaping up to be a tight contest between a far-right party leader who stands to upend the Black Sea nation’s pro-European path and a contender promising a more centrist brand of leadership.

The first major poll taken after a May 4 first-round ballot showed ultranationalist George Simion and Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan in a dead heat. Each candidate secured about 48% support ahead of the May 18 runoff, according to an AtlasIntel survey commissioned by news website Hotnews.ro.