Simion accuses Moldova of manipulating Romanian election as vote goes to wire

Hard-right Romanian presidential hopeful George Simion on Friday cried foul over early voting in crucial polling stations in Moldova — home to many Romanian citizens — in a sign of increasing nerves about an election that is set to come down to the wire.

Simion, an ultranationalist fan of U.S. President Donald Trump, won nearly 61 percent of the votes of the important Romanian diaspora in the first round of the election on May 4.

Moldova, however, bucked that trend and supported his centrist rival Nicușor Dan. It is home to a significant number of Romanian citizens and its politics are heavily influenced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Simion opposes military aid to Kyiv.

While Simion expressed confidence he would win by landslide on Thursday, POLITICO’s Poll of Polls suggests he has only a narrow 3-point lead ahead of this Sunday’s second round.  

In an outspoken attack, Simion accused the anti-Russian government in Moldova of trying to manipulate the vote against him on the first day of voting abroad. “The ‘campaign’ is over, we now need to stop the immense fraud!” he wrote in a Facebook post.

The allegations come as early turnout among Romanians voting in Moldova is nearly three times the level of the comparable period in the first round on May 4, according to data from the Romanian Permanent Electoral Authority. 

Simion wrote his party colleagues were meeting with representatives of Romania’s Special Telecommunications Service, which provides technical IT support for polling stations, adding “in [the Republic of] Moldova the government started stealing. We’re not letting them.”

Bucharest mayor Dan, who’s running as an independent on a centrist platform, won 53 percent of votes in Moldova the first round; Simion only scraped 12.5 percent.  

The latest polls in Romania have shown Dan closing in the gap with Simion, and even passing him. 

Simion is banned from entering Moldova until 2028 for national security reasons, given his years’ long campaign to reunite Moldova with Romania. A Moldovan court is set to consider Simion’s request to lift the ban on Monday.

A Moldovan government spokesperson responded to Simion’s allegations by calling on politicians to refrain from accusations that could compromise the vote. 

“We continue to encourage everybody to go out to vote and make their voice heard. Without fear,” said Moldovan government spokesperson Daniel Vodă, according to Romania’s Digi24 channel.

The Romanian Special Telecommunications Service said after meeting with representatives of Simion’s party, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, that everything had been set up properly for the election. 

Simion’s claims of potential fraud raised concerns among some Dan supporters that the AUR leader was paving the way for not recognizing the results of the election if he loses Sunday. 

“It’s possible that this candidate revealed his plan for the (very likely) situation that he would lose the elections: he won’t admit defeat, invoking ‘manipulation’ by ‘subservient’ TV channels. By [intelligence] services. By the ‘system,’” Vlad Voiculescu, a Romanian member of the European Parliament from the Save Romania Union party, which is backing Dan, wrote Friday on Facebook.