Six months after the first attempt ended with scandal and confusion, the Romanians will elect a new president again.

A radical outsider with a mysterious tendency, Calin Georgescu, first appeared on November 24, but the result was abolished due to allegations of campaign fraud and Russian intervention.

In February, U.S. Vice President JD Vance severely criticized the Romanian decision, triggering a shock wave through the Romanian political institution that tends to have a special relationship with the United States. Despite this, George Cu is banned from participating in today's replay.

The election brought the nationalists, leader of the Alliance of Romanians (AUR), George Simion, with three centrists: Bucharest Nicusor Dan's popular mayor; Crin Antonescu, a liberalist, the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Union representing the government; and Elena Lasconi, independent.

There are seven other candidates on the ballot. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, runoff between the first two candidates will be held on May 18.

Simion is released on X on Friday. ” Simion released on X on Friday.

Polls - known to be unreliable in Romania - suggest he comes first today and will face a tough game against Nicusor Dan or Crin Antonescu in runoff.

In the European capitals, Washington, Kiev and Moscow, the result was nervously waiting. Romania is an important transit route to Ukraine's weapons systems and ammunition. The country has a U.S. missile defense shield in Deveselu, and three major air force bases from which NATO drives an air policing mission to the Ukrainian and Moldova border and crosses the Black Sea.

Ukraine exports 70% of the grain to Istanbul through Romanian territory, exporting from the Black Sea coast. The Romanian Navy insulted these waters, and the Romanian Air Force trained Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16. The Trump administration is reassessing its commitment to Romania. On the eve of the election, a visa agreement was suddenly cancelled.

"If Simion becomes president, forget more help to Ukraine," said George Scutaru, a security expert at Bucharest's new strategic center. As head of the National Security Council, the president can veto any decision and have a strong impact on security policy. But Scutaru expressed "cautious optimism" and one of the centrists would win the runoff.

Romania's public support for Ukrainian refugees' central support for the Soviet campaign has been the central plank of the Soviet campaign, although he denied that he was pro-Russian.

At a bake in May, tourists gather in the gardens of the Cotroceni Palace where the president lives in western Bucharest. Interim President Ilie Bolojan's decision to open buildings and gardens to the public is very popular among tourists.

White and purple iris are covered with flowers on the route below the ancient horse chestnuts. An army parades among the flower beds of violets and violets. The palace is a former monastery converted in the 17th century and became the home of the Romanian royal family in the 19th century.

"I really can't imagine Simon here..." The satirist Ionut looked up at the palace walls and told me the gorgeous waterfall next to me. In the first round of elections last November, he voted to determine his anger at the Schengen Free Travel Zone, a member of the Romanian member. Frustrated with Romania's outgoing president Klaus Iohannis.

But Romania finally joined the land boundaries of Schengen on January 1, while Iohannis resigned in the same month. He believes: "The Romanians are not very angry now." He told his daughter that he would vote for Nicusor Dan in this election, but was not determined yet.

Management consultant Ana walked through Palace Gardens with her family and supported Nicusor Dan. “I want to vote for continuity and change,” she said. “The continuity of Romania’s relationship with Europe, but in terms of corruption, our young people are no longer related to the old political parties.”

Many of the large expatriates in Romania - one million registered to vote - have voted, especially in Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom. In polls, they are invisible and can easily affect the final result.