Polling stations have opened in Romania for voting in the presidential election on Sunday.
A total of 19,000 polling stations started working in the country at 7:00 a.m. At the same time, Romanian citizens living abroad started voting on November 22. For them the procedure will last three days.
There is no turnout threshold in the country, so the electoral process will be recognised as valid with any number of participants. There are 13 candidates running for the post of head of state. Among them are the former deputy secretary general of NATO, ex-chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Mircea Geoană, the current head of PSD, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the speaker of the Senate, the leader of the National Liberal Party Nicolae Ciucă and the leader of the “Union for the Salvation of Romania” Elena Lasconi.
According to Romanian law, a candidate needs at least half of the popular vote to win. If such a result is not achieved, a second round of elections will be held in a fortnight. The winner of the presidential election will be recognised as the one who will gain a simple majority.
The European Union and NATO member country will also hold parliamentary elections on December 1 to determine Romania’s next government and prime minister. The presidency has a five-year term and considerable decision-making powers in areas such as national security and foreign policy.
