Romanian election exit polls spark coalition speculation and unrest

Based on the exit poll results, Romanian media are already considering coalition scenarios, but experts are urging calm and advising patience for the final results.

Firstly, the exit polls do not account for nearly 800,000 votes from the diaspora, and secondly, the exit polls were mistaken in the first round of the presidential elections, indicating results significantly different from the final outcomes.

Marcel Ciolacu, the current prime minister and former leader of the Social Democratic Party, emphasized the importance of acknowledging responsibility for Romania. "It is an important signal that Romanians have sent to the political class," said the Social Democrat Prime Minister. He stressed the need to continue advancing the country using European funds while "protecting our identity, national values and faith." Ciolacu had stepped down as party leader after finishing third in the first round of the presidential elections.

According to the exit poll, PSD gained 26% in the parliamentary elections.

The leader of the radical right-wing AUR party, which according to the exit poll came in second with 19%, George Simion spoke about the "rebirth of Romania", highlighting not only his party's results but also those of two anti-system forces – S.O.S Romania (5.4%) and the Young People’s Party (POT) (5.4%) and the centre-left progressive party SENS, which did not exceed the election threshold, gaining over 3%.

Simion reflected on how predictions about new political forces entering parliament were initially dismissed. "Today the Romanian people voted for the pro-sovereignty forces," stated the leader of the far-right AUR party. However, he noted that the landscape is shifting to reform Romania’s political system and eliminate corrupt parties now nearing realization in alignment with the people’s wishes. "It is the beginning of a new era in which the Romanian people reclaim the right to decide their own destiny," he concluded.

He also declared that AUR will not form a coalition with PSD because "it does not ally with corruption," his party will support Calin Georgescu in the presidential elections with all its resources.

Diana Sosoaca, the leader of the nationalist and pro-Russian S.O.S Romania party, accused authorities of rigging the elections and announced her intention to file a criminal complaint regarding the organisation of the elections, as reported by the portal G4media.ro.

"From what I saw in the exit poll, I think the wisest thing would be to wait for tomorrow's vote count. When Romanians unite, we can make miracles happen! TikTok bots cannot destroy our democracy. [...] We will bitterly defend our independence from Russia! The memory of the Russian tanks running over us is not forgotten," said the centre-right leader of USR, Elena Lasconi, who took second place in the first round of the presidential elections. She emphasised that she understands the anger of Romanian citizens towards 35 years of the current elite's rule.

Lasconi's party gained more than 15% support in the exit poll.

Jakub Bielamowicz, an Institute of New Europe analyst, emphasises that "the outcome of the elections in Romania has never been so difficult to predict."

"After the first round of the presidential elections, where, to everyone's surprise, the first place was won by a radically right-wing candidate from the fringes of Romanian politics, Calin Georgescu, a high result is also expected in the parliamentary elections for parties with a similar profile," noted Bielamowicz.

The turnout in the parliamentary elections was over 52%, with the number of votes cast at around 9.4 million. About 50,000 votes from countries where voting ended after the polls closed in Romania (which occurred at 7 PM Greenwich Time) will be added.