Exit polls: Nicușor Dan leads in Romania's crucial presidential vote
However, all is still in play due to the projection nature of exit polls and the unprecedented diaspora votes, which are not factored into these projections and could therefore still decide the race in which over 11 million Romanians voted (64% turnout).
Avangarde projects Dan winning 54,9% of the votes and Simion 45,0%, while Curs projects Dan at 54,10% and Simion at 45,9%. The margin of error is 2%.
According to the exit polls' national projections by pollsters Avangarde and Curs published by Euronews Romania, NATO's Eastern flank country chose the pro-EU, pro-NATO candidate in a massive turnout marked by fear and resentment, overturning Simion's lead in the first round.
But the voting trend of the last hours may still affect these projections, setting the stage for a dramatic election night in what most Romanians see as the most crucial vote in their post-communist history.
Also, the relativity of exit poll projections in previous elections, another sign of the hard-fought presidential election battle in the bitterly polarised Romania, means that the official count and the diaspora vote results will now grip Romania for the next hours until the final official result is announced.
The Avangarde pollster sociologists noticed a larger voting presence in the big cities, which tend to favour Dan, and lower participation in the countryside and smaller towns, where the big parties' electorate does not have a candidate.
In the last hours of the voting, the Romanian foreign, interior and defence ministries denounced what they called 'Russian interference,' warning voters about a fake news campaign rolled out on Telegram, TikTok and other social media platforms.
The Romanian foreign ministry spokesperson Andrei Tarnea said on X Sunday that 'once again we see the distinctive signs of Russian interference (…) to influence the electoral process.
"This was expected," he added.
In a coordinated move, the three ministries revealed that a fake video published on Sunday 'falsely claims that French troops in Romania secretly wear Romanian gendarmerie uniforms to intervene internally,' has been linked directly to Russia.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov revealed that he refused a request from 'a Western country', which he didn't name, to 'silence' the conservative voices in Romania.
'Telegram will not restrict the liberties of Romanian users, nor will it block their political channels', Durov said.
Follow Euronews Romania's live coverage of the presidential election repeat's runoff here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
a minute ago
- France 24
From Gaza to Paris: Former FRANCE 24 fixer evacuated from the enclave testifies
08:24 29/07/2025 Ivory Coast President Ouattara, 83, says will seek fourth term 29/07/2025 Deadly Russian air raids hit Ukraine as Trump warns of sanctions 29/07/2025 France leads UN talks on Israel-Palestine two-state solution 29/07/2025 China: Deadly floods hit the north of the country 29/07/2025 France: Paris election shows split in the Republican party, Culture Minister and ex-PM to face off 29/07/2025 How Claude Monet's masterpiece named Impressionism? 29/07/2025 Colombia ex-president Uribe guilty in bribery trial 29/07/2025 Turkey battles wildfires, arrests suspects as heatwave grips Mediterranean 29/07/2025 Thailand and Cambodia ceasefire holds as wary displaced villagers return home
Euronews
a minute ago
- Euronews
Automotive giant Stellantis faces €1.5 billion hit from US tariffs
The second-biggest carmaker in Europe has forecast that US tariffs could cost it €1.5 billion this year as the EU has failed to avert auto levies imposed by the Trump administration. The producers of luxury Maserati cars as well as mid-range and affordable favourites such as Lancia, Peugeot and Fiat, said on Tuesday that net profits plummeted from €5.6bn in the same period last year. This was as it burned €3.3 billion in cash for the cancellation of a hydrogen fuel cell project. Changes in the fine regime for US carbon emission regulations and write-downs on platform investments also hit profits. US President Donald Trump's tariffs cost the company €300 million in the first six months of the year, Stellantis said. Losses like these could crank up political and labour pressure as the carmaker faces a heightened risk of plant shutdowns, delayed model launches and fights with unions as management scrambles to manage the cash gap. Carmakers are the main drivers of European industry. The sector pumps out roughly 7% of EU GDP according to the European Commission, supports around 14 million jobs across its supply chains and delivers one of the bloc's biggest export surpluses each year. Automakers also pour more than €70bn annually into engineering and technological innovation. A dip in their fortunes can therefore ripple into technology, steel, chemicals, logistics and the continent's drive for innovation. Stellantis said it expected net revenues to increase over the next six months compared with the first half, when they dropped 13% to €74.3bn. The carmaker also said cash flow would improve. Incoming CEO Antonio Filosa, who was confirmed in the role last month, said the new executive team would "continue to make the tough decisions needed to re-establish profitable growth and significantly improve results". 'My first weeks as CEO have reconfirmed my strong conviction that we will fix what's wrong with Stellantis,'' Filosa said in a statement.
Euronews
31 minutes ago
- Euronews
German politicians furious at von der Leyen over new EU-US trade deal
German politicians across party lines denounced European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, calling for her resignation after she agreed to asymmetric trade terms that impose 15% US tariffs on EU exports while granting Americans duty-free access to European markets. The deal, struck under pressure from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz both in public and behind the scenes to avoid threatened 30% punitive tariffs, triggered unprecedented cross-party criticism in Germany, where lawmakers described the arrangement as a "capitulation" and "betrayal of Europe". Merz himself initially appeared satisfied. "With the agreement, we have succeeded in averting a trade conflict that would have hit the export-oriented German economy hard," the German chancellor said on Sunday. By Monday evening, however, Merz suddenly had a change of heart, expressing strong reservations. The agreed tariffs were now a "considerable burden" for the German economy, in the eyes of Merz. Under the agreement announced Sunday, EU products face 15% US tariffs while American goods enter Europe levy-free. For the EU, the US tariff rate for steel and aluminium imports will remain at 50%. The EU also committed to purchasing $750 billion in US energy and pledged $600 billion in European corporate investments in America. The deal led to an unprecedented wave of shock and outrage across all camps of German politics. Now, for the first time in a long time, all German parties are criticising the move. "Due to pressure from the German chancellor, the EU has agreed to a deal that abandons fundamental principles of rules-based global trade. Instead of long-term stability, the agreement creates uncertainty," Sandra Detzer from the Greens said, slamming the deal at the Bundestag. In fact, this agreement hits Germany particularly hard. According to the Institute for Economic Research (IfW), the deal will cost the German economy around €6.5 billion in terms of its GDP in the first year. "This is an inadequate compromise and sends a fatal signal to the closely interlinked economies on both sides of the Atlantic," warned Wolfgang Niedermark from the Federation of German Industries (BDI). A rate of 15% is set to have immense adverse effects, and the lack of an agreement for steel exports was an "additional low blow", he pointed out. 'Von der Leyen should resign for this worst deal ever' German EU politician Fabio De Masi (BSW) is also shocked. "This bad deal will do immense economic damage to Europe - it is a betrayal of Europe. Mrs von der Leyen should resign for this worst deal ever," he told Euronews. "While the US is to export duty-free to the EU, EU exporters will be subject to a 15% tariff. In addition, European companies are to make direct investments worth hundreds of billions of US dollars." "So Trump is hitting us with new punitive tariffs and, as business, we are filling his order books with purchases of dirty US fracking gas and defence equipment." EU politician Svenja Hahn (FDP) concurs. "15% tariffs are better than the threatened 30 - but the deal is not a success. At best, it is damage control," she told Euronews. The deal struck on Sunday represents "unbalanced to the detriment of the EU, contains no substantial successes" and weakens "rules-based trade". "Ursula von der Leyen has damaged the EU's reputation and economic strength with her weak conduct of negotiations, she must finally deliver: less bureaucracy, a strong internal market and real progress on free trade agreements, especially Mercosur," Hahn explained. German-Polish MEP Tomasz Froelich (AfD) told Euronews that the agreement reached is "not a deal", but "a capitulation of the EU", as there had been no serious attempt to exert pressure on the US, according to him. "This declaration of bankruptcy stands in stark contrast to the EU's otherwise grandiloquent behaviour on the international stage: confrontation in all directions, leaving hardly any options, especially in the area of energy imports," he explained. "I will work in the EU Parliament to ensure that this humiliating and ruinous agreement is prevented after all," Froelich, who serves as the first deputy head of the AfD delegation at the European Parliament, added. Governing parties lob criticism too Ruling CDU/CSU lawmaker Johannes Winkel stepped up to the plate. "This humiliation of Europe by the US must above all be a reason for self-criticism," Winkel warned on X. "Energy saving, bureaucracy, ESG instead of innovation, growth and technology. This politically motivated economic self-deprecation must end." Others representing the coalition partner SPD also dared to come forward with particularly harsh criticism. Bremen's mayor, Andreas Bovenschulte said on X: "The worst thing is how our EU leader is allowing herself to be humiliated into licking Trump's boots and flattering him as a 'tough - even fair - dealmaker'. Not a spark of honour in her body." The SPD politician later walked back on a part of his statement. "I take back the honour thing. That was a bit harsh," he said. In his hometown of Bremen, thousands of jobs at the ArcelorMittal steel plant are in jeopardy. Bavaria's Minister President Markus Söder (CSU) was honest and made it clear on Monday: things cannot go on like this. "The customs deal has prevented the worst," Söder said, "but the situation is now more difficult than before, especially for the automotive industry." "That's why it must be clear: There must be no additional taxes in Europe, as the EU is currently planning." Relief would now be needed to offset the tariffs. Söder criticised von der Leyen: "We simply need to do less of a Green Deal in Europe and more of an Economic Deal." Economic expert and longstanding German MEP Markus Ferber (CSU) also made it clear to the Bild newspaper: "If you consider that our offer was the complete elimination of all tariffs, then the deal is not a great success." "Fifteen per cent makes European products massively more expensive in the US and will hit the German economy particularly hard. Even if a non-agreement would have been even more expensive, a good deal looks different."
