What is going on in Romania?
"Romanians are trying again to elect a new president, six months after the first attempt ended in scandal and confusion.
A radical outsider with mystical leanings, Calin Georgescu, came first on 24 November, but that result was annulled over allegations of campaign fraud and Russian interference. ...
If no candidate wins over 50% of the vote, a run-off between the first two candidates will be held on 18 May. ...
The result is awaited nervously in European capitals, Washington, Kyiv and Moscow. Romania is an important transit route for weapon systems and ammunition to Ukraine. The country has a US missile defence shield at Deveselu, and three major airbases from which Nato flies air policing missions up to the border of Ukraine and Moldova, and out over the Black Sea.
Ukraine exports 70% of its grain down the Black Sea coast, through Romanian territorial waters, towards Istanbul. The Romanian navy demines those waters, and the Romanian air force trains Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s. The Trump administration is reassessing its commitment to Romania. A visa-waiver agreement was abruptly cancelled on the eve of the election. ...
But Romania finally joined the Schengen land-borders on 1 January, ...
Many in Romania's large diaspora - a million are registered to vote - have already cast their ballots, especially in Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK. They are invisible in opinion polls, and could easily sway the final result. ..."
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