Survey: Over half of respondents believe Romania’s future president should be an independent

More than half (54.4%) of respondents to a recent INSCOP survey carried out for News.ro believe that the future president of Romania should be an independent political leader. At the same time, 38.7% would prefer a political party representative.

About 4.6% are still undecided, and 2.2% decided not to answer.

Most of those who would like Romania’s next president to be an independent are Bucharesters (54%), residents of cities with over 90,000 inhabitants (58%), and residents of cities with less than 90,000 inhabitants (60%). Also, 40% of PSD (Social Democrats) voters, 44% of PNL (Liberals) voters, 49% of far-right party AUR voters, and 58% of USR voters want an independent president.

On the other hand, 55% of PSD voters, 49% of PNL voters, 48% of AUR voters, and 35% of USR voters want a president who represents a political party.

“A party-independent president seems to be a more desirable profile for the Romanian population than a party representative. Regardless of the age category or the type of locality in which they live, Romanians have a stronger preference for a president independent of parties. The only categories in which the opinions are more balanced are the 60+ years of age and the residents of rural areas,” said Remus Ştefureac, director of INSCOP Research.

INSCOP Research conducted the opinion poll for News.ro between June 19 and 27 using the CATI method (telephone interviews). A total of 1,100 people aged 18 and over participated in the survey.

Romania will hold presidential elections later this year, but the exact dates are yet to be decided.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos / George Călin)