The presidential campaign has begun, Ciolacu is the favorite in the polls

The campaign for the presidential elections - whose first round of voting will take place on November 24 - started yesterday and will end on November 23, at 7:00 a.m., during which the 14 candidates will try to convince citizens with the right to vote to give them confidence for a mandate in Cotroceni. According to an opinion poll conducted by INSCOP Research between October 11 and 18 and published on the first day of the presidential campaign, Marcel Ciolacu, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) is the favorite among voters, obtaining 24.1% of voting intentions. He is followed by George Simion, the candidate of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), with 20.7%, and by the independent Mircea Geoană, former deputy general secretary of NATO, with 18.1%. Elena Lasconi, the candidate of the Save Romania Union (USR), is in fourth place with 15%, and Nicolae Ciucă, the leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), is in fifth place, with 8.2%.

In the case of a second round, which would take place on December 8, the INSCOP survey presented different scenarios. If the final battle were between Marcel Ciolacu and George Simion, the prime minister would win with 56% of the votes, while Simion would get 44%. In a duel with Mircea Geoană, Ciolacu would get 55.6%, compared to 44.4% for Geoană. In a confrontation between Marcel Ciolacu and Elena Lasconi, 53% of voters would choose Ciolacu, and 47% Lasconi. If Ciolacu's opponent were Nicolae Ciucă, the current prime minister would register the biggest advance, with 63.1% of the votes.

The survey was conducted on a sample of 1106 people, through telephone interviews (CATI method), and has a margin of error of +/-2.95%, at a confidence level of 95%. 72% of respondents said they would definitely go to the polls, suggesting an estimated turnout of around 58.6% in the first round.

We mention that for the first round of the presidential elections, which will take place on November 24, the Central Electoral Bureau has definitively validated the following candidates: Elena-Valerica Lasconi - Union Save Romania (USR), George-Nicolae Simion - Alliance for the Romanian Union (AUR), Ion-Marcel Ciolacu - Social Democratic Party (PSD), Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă - National Liberal Party (PNL), Hunor Kelemen - Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR), Mircea-Dan Geoană - Independent, Ana Birchall - Independent, Alexandra- Beatrice Bertalan-Păcuraru - Alternative Party for National Dignity (PADN), Sebastian-Constantin Popescu - New Romania Party (PNR), Ludovic Orban - Forţa Dreptei (FD), Călin Georgescu - Independent, Cristian Diaconescu - Independent, Cristian-Vasile Terheş - Romanian National Conservative Party (PNCR) and Silviu Predoiu - National Action League Party (PLAN).