Hard-right candidate leads field as new Romania election campaign begins

Romanian presidential candidates began campaigning on Friday for the rerun of an election canceled over accusations of Russian meddling, with Romania's role in NATO and the EU and its aid to neighbouring Ukraine in the spotlight.

Leading opinion polls for the first round of the two-round election on May 4 and 18 is opposition leader George Simion, who has drawn supporters from the cancelled vote's far-right frontrunner Calin Georgescu, whom he had supported.

Two independents, former leftist prime minister Victor Ponta and centrist Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan, are tied for second place in the NATO and EU member state, which has helped its neighbour Ukraine fend off Russia's three-year-old invasion.

Romania's president chairs the council that decides on military aid and defence spending, and can veto EU votes that require unanimity among the bloc's 27 member states.

Simion, 38, has in the past pledged to restore Romania's pre-World War Two borders. These include areas now in Bulgaria as well as in Moldova and Ukraine, which have declared him persona non grata. More recently he has softened his position.

"We will fight for peace and for our future here in this country," Simion said in a social media post. He had described the cancellation of the first round as a 'coup', a view echoed by members of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.

Both Simion and Ponta, a Trump admirer, are campaigning on a Romania-first ticket. It is unclear to what extent they would continue helping Ukraine but, unlike Georgescu, have not pledged to end all support.

Simion and Ponta have also said they supported a more assertive role for Romania within the EU and NATO while still acknowledging the benefits of the two organisations. Dan is pro-EU and NATO and supports most aid for Ukraine.

Georgescu was barred from standing after the Constitutional Court voided the initial ballot in December citing interference from Russia, which Moscow denied.

The government has tightened campaign rules, requiring ads to identify sponsors, and social media platforms to quickly remove content on its request.

Local think tank Expert Forum has asked election officials to publish candidates' financing data weekly.

Georgescu, who said he spent no funds in his campaign, was massively promoted on TikTok through coordinated accounts, recommendation algorithms and paid promotion. He is now under investigation.

TikTok has denied giving him special treatment and said in a report about combating disinformation released earlier this week that it had removed six networks of malicious accounts during the election, including 27,217 accounts operated through a fake engagement vendor to promote Simion's party and Georgescu.

Israeli tech company Cyabra, which uses machine learning to identify fake accounts, found that 16% of X accounts involved in discussions about Romania's cancelled election were fake, with the potential to reach 20 million views.

X did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Simion built his Alliance for Uniting Romanians from a fringe anti-vaccination group during the COVID pandemic into Romania's second largest party, tapping into anger with mainstream politics among young people and those working abroad.