Poll shows Romania’s PM Ciolacu leads in race for presidential elections
<p>The first poll for the presidential elections carried out after the June 9 local and European elections indicates that prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, the head of the Social Democratic (PSD) party, leads against his main rivals at a substantial margin.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The poll carried out by Sociopol shows Ciolacu at 31%, twice the score of independent candidate Mircea Geoana (15%), the leader of all recent presidential polls.</p>

<p>George Simion (17%), the leader of the nationalist party AUR, ranks second in the poll with a score that is plausible given his party’s performance in the June 9 ballots.</p>

<p>The Liberals’ candidate Nicolae Ciuca (13%) lags behind Geoana and Simion, but is among the three candidates that would potentially make it to the second round.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The poll doesn’t include Elena Lasconi or any other candidate of the reformist party USR.</p>

<p><em>(Photo: <a href="https://www.dreamstime.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Vladographer/ Dreamstime</a>)</em></p>

<p><em>iulian@romania-insider.com</em></p>