Romania’s presidential race: Former NATO deputy chief Geoană and PM Ciolacu lead in new poll

Former NATO deputy secretary general Mircea Geoană and prime minister Marcel Ciolacu lead in the latest presidential poll carried out by INSCOP Research for the Institute for Freedom and Democracy.

Mircea Geoană (independent) is polling at 21.4% in voting intentions for the first round of the presidential elections, followed closely by PM and Social Democrat (PSD) leader Marcel Ciolacu at 20.3%.

Next are USR president Elena Lasconi with a share of 14.2%, SOS Romania leader Diana Șoșoacă with 13.6%, AUR president George Simion - 12%, and Liberal (PNL) leader Nicolae Ciucă - 7.1%.

"The declared presence in the first round by those who choose a candidate is about 60% of the total population, which confirms the hypothesis that more citizens will vote in the presidential elections than in the local and European parliamentary elections," said INSCOP Research president Remus Ștefureac.

He also said that the high number of announced candidates leads to a fragmentation of the voting intention, and the presence of independent candidates "generates a new situation for Romania's recent democracy." Thus, he says, the first round competition will be much more contested than in other presidential elections.

In a Marcel Ciolacu vs Mircea Geoană scenario for the second round of the presidential elections, 47.8% of respondents said they would vote for the former NATO deputy secretary general and 34.2% for the current prime minister. Compared to the respondents who chose a candidate, 58.3% would vote for Mircea Geoană and 41.7% for Marcel Ciolacu.

INSCOP Research carried out the opinion poll between September 11-16 via the CATI (telephone interviews) method. Roughly 1,100 people participated in the survey.

The presidential elections will be held on November 24 and December 8.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/George Calin)