Nearly 19 million Romanians are expected to vote today in the local and European parliamentary elections. Polling stations will be open from 07:00 to 22:00. According to the Permanent Electoral Authority, 207,389 candidates are registered for the local elections. For the European Parliament elections, voters will choose from 16 parties and alliances or independent candidates.
By 12:00 p.m., 3,203,570 Romanians had voted in the European Parliament elections, the turnout being 17.78%.
Also, in the local elections, 3,129,846 Romanians have come to the polls so far, the turnout being 17.31%. In May 2019, at the European Parliament, at 12:00, there were 2,751,184 voters and a turnout of 15.06%. In September 2020, there were 2,870,898 voters and a turnout of 15.69% at the local polls at 12:00.
A number of 2,338,416 Romanians had voted until 11:00, representing 13% of the number of voters registered on the lists. The highest attendance was in Teleorman – 20.36% and Olt – 19.68%, and the lowest in Bucharest – 9.53%.
In Bucharest, 174,544 people (190,928 5 years ago) voted by 11:00 a.m., with a turnout of 9.74% (compared to 10.61% in 2019). Also, 170,381 people voted in local elections (162,911 in 2020), the voter turnout being 9.41% (compared to 8.95% in 2020).
By 11:00 a.m., 2,386,796 Romanians came to the polls in the elections for the European Parliament, the voter turnout thus being 13.24%. For comparison, five years ago at the European Parliament, 1,933,226 Romanians had voted by 11:00, with a turnout of 10.58%.
Also up to this time, 2,338,362 voters have voted at local offices, the equivalent of a 12.93% turnout. And four years ago, in the local elections, by 11:00 a.m., 2,110,334 Romanians had appeared at the polling stations, the turnout being 11.53%.
The race for Bucharest
The incumbent mayor of the capital, Nicușor Dan, came to vote and emphasized, in the statement provided to the press, that he voted “for realism in public life” and “against the real estate mafia”. “I voted for honesty in public life, for realism in public life, it is important that politicians tell us where we are and what we can do. And I voted against the real estate mafia”, declared Nicușor Dan, upon leaving the polling station.
Former Bucharest mayor during 2016-2020, Gabriela Firea, currently running for a new term on behalf of PSD, voted on Sunday around 11:00 a.m. in the local and European parliamentary elections.
“I voted with the people in mind who want to have the parks clean again, who want to see that work is being done on the construction sites, that there are results regarding traffic streamlining and heating,” said Gabriela Firea. “I voted with a lot of optimism because Bucharest is such a beautiful city, but which has recently been abandoned,” she added. The PSD candidate for Bucharest was accompanied to the vote by the party’s president, Marcel Ciolacu.
PNL candidate for Bucharest City Hall, Sebastian Burduja was confident about his chances in the elections, in the statements made after the vote. “I trust the people of Bucharest, I was in the streets during this whole period and I felt that they want something else from this city,” declared Sebastian Burduja. “From tomorrow we get down to business, win and fight.”
George Simion, president of the AUR, and Cristian Popescu Piedone, the PUSL candidate for the Capital City Hall, are among the first politicians to go to the polls first thing in the morning.
The AUR leader voted at the “Gheorghe Lazăr din Bucharest” High School for the European Parliament elections and will then go to Vrancea to vote for the local ones. “All we want is a fair vote. I chose to vote here in Bucharest in the European Parliament and I will go to Vrancea, where I live, to vote in the local elections.We voted for the future, we voted for change,” said Simion, quoted by Euronews Romania.
Cristian Popescu Piedone, running for the Capital mayor sear from PUSL voted immediately after the opening of the polling stations, together with his son who is a candidate for the District 5 City Hall. “It will be a bit complicated today with so many ballots.Gentlemen, you have a hard life today,” Piedone told those present, according to Euronews.“There are problems that all people will face today, it’s important to be patient. I have reliable information, people will migrate from the sea and the mountains and they will come for the last hundred meters”.
President Klaus Iohannis voted at the “Jean Monnet” High School section in the capital. “Today is an important day, a day when we elect those who lead the communities in which we live and we elect those who represent us in the European Parliament,” said the president after the vote. “I voted and I invite all of you to vote, it is extremely important,” said the head of state.
USR notifies over allegedly stamped ballots
USR announces that it has requested the suspension of voting in a polling station in Bucharest, on the grounds that it found already stamped ballots. “This morning, at Section 190, the police were called after they found 4 ballots already stamped with PSD-PNL. The first ballot was discovered even by a voter, then 3 others were found on the tables of PSD-PNL representatives. After the police made checks, they allowed the resumption of the voting process. After the police left, another stamped ballot was discovered.The fifth”, says USR in a statement.
The live turnout is available at: https://prezenta.roaep.ro/locale09062024/.
The post Higher Turnout in 2024 Local and European Elections Than Previous appeared first on The Romania Journal.
