Bucharest, Romania - As Romania takes brackets of high-risk presidential runoff between two stark candidates this weekend, 25-year-old medical resident Alexandra Bejinariu is concerned about which direction her European Union nation will choose in the closely watched vote.

Like many voters, young doctors viewed the vote between Sunday's nationalist leader George Simion and pro-Western reformer and current Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan as the choice for the country's geopolitical future.

She told the Associated Press in Bucharest that it was a choice between "East and West or West." "It splits my family, my relatives, my friends," she said.

Romania suffered a deep political crisis, with far right outsider Calin Georgescu ranked first in the first round after the election violations and Russian interventions denied by Moscow.

Social division has been exposed during the chaotic election cycle in Romania, Bejinariu said she fears that the same presidency would undermine Romania's long-standing Western alliance. "I think that's a big risk," she said.

"It has to change, but I don't know what direction it will change," she added. "I hope our future will be good...it really makes me anxious."

After finishing fourth in the match cancelled last year, Simion is the leader of the 38-year-old Romanian Unification League, or AUR, who backed Georgescu, who was banned from standing in March in March. Simion then became the Frontrunner replayed on May 4, after becoming the standard driver on the hard right.

Years of popular corruption and growing anger at Romanian political institutions have inspired support for nationalist figures, reflecting the broader pattern seen throughout Europe.

The Ort Party said it represents "family, nation, faith and freedom" and stands out in the 2020 parliamentary elections. Since then, it has become the second largest party in the Romanian legislature.

To his critics, Simon is a pro-Russian extremist who threatens Romania's long-term alliance in the EU and NATO. But in an Associated Press interview last week, he rejected the allegations, saying Russia is the biggest threat to his country and that he hopes Romania is seen as an "equal companion" in Brussels.

"Some fake news says we want to withdraw from the European project," he said. "The luck is tough."

Recent local surveys have shown that runoff has narrowed to nearly a draw, after earlier people have shown that Simion is ahead of Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician who fights illegal real estate projects as a civic activist.

Dan formed the Reformists Save Romanian Coalition in 2016, but later left and ran independently on a pro-EU ticket, reaffirming Western tie, support for Ukraine and fiscal reforms. He also addressed growing tensions at a rally in Bucharest on Sunday.

"What's going on, in a country with hardworking, decent people, there's so much hatred and division that friends and friends circles are torn apart by political views," he said. "We need to project hope."

Simion, also a former activist who runs with neighboring Moldova, said he will focus on reform: cutting the traditional tape festival, reducing bureaucracy and taxation. But he insisted that his main goal was to restore democracy. "My platform is to return to democracy and restore the will of the people," he said.

The presidency has five-year term and significant decision-making power in national security and foreign policy.

Romanian parliamentarian Siegfried Muresan told the Associated Press that Sunday's vote was the first election since Romania's geopolitical orientation since the end of communism.

"The election is about the European model, the choice between European lifestyles, and the European lifestyle is based on democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, rule of law, development, unity, unity," he said. "The Russian model is exactly the opposite - not just the presidential election."

In a local television debate last week, Simion opposed EU officials he called "the globalist of Brussels" and expressed admiration for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a long-time critic of 27-Nation Bloc.

"That's exactly why many of his positions, not all... will be the reason for Romanian national policy," Simon said, who opposed further military aid to neighboring Ukraine or dispatching troops from NATO countries to protect any peace agreements, fearing escalation.

Simion's activities in Moldova led to allegations that he tried to undermine the country and ban him from entering. He was also banned from participating in the "System Anti-Ukrainian" event in Ukraine.

Pro-Western President Maia Sandu of Moldova released a public message this week in support of Dan, saying Moldova understands the value of being "part of European families" and urges Moldovans with dual Romanian nationality to vote to protect Romania's already achieved, but are now under threat. ”

In the first round of May 4, Simion won 61% of the votes of the large Romanian diaspora, calling for patriotism resonates with Romanians, who moved abroad to seek better opportunities.

Claudiu Tufis, associate professor of political science at the University of Bucharest, said Sunday’s results could boil down to turnout, which is usually higher in the second round of votes. "Voting will be key," he said, adding that Simion lacked sufficient experience in high-level positions and was worried that he would target civil society organizations quickly.

"It's a big problem," he said. "What drives him is his focus on identity politics. He has absolutely no experience in foreign policy and has no experience in public administration."

For Ghiorghies, 36, a 36-year-old in the energy sector, Simion represents a new form of patriotic conservatism, who believes the need to overhaul the outdated political class.

"I consider the principles of freedom, dignity, the equal rights of everyone, prosperity and health, not what we have now: manipulation, censorship and incompetence in everything related to the state system," he said.

"We need a role model, a patriot who knows that you can realize your heart more than your brain," Ghiorghies said.

Social tensions are amplifying further online, and throughout the election cycle, it has become a universal force in coordinated networks of false information.

Cyabra, an AI-powered platform that studies online influence movement, analyzed hundreds of comments from the official X accounts of the two candidates after the first round and concluded that a large portion came from fake accounts.

The group said the posts peaked on the day of the election and the next day on what seemed to be a synchronous movement, with most of them criticizing Dan for using such “foreign puppets” or praising “such as “well done in Romania! ”.

Andrei Grajdeanu, a 34-year-old dental technician, said he felt Romanians had long been divided, but social media has exposed the department.

“I think everyone needs to vote for their opinions, that’s all,” he said. “Don’t fight with family, friends or each other.”