Romanians began voting on Sunday in a tense presidential election rerun — a close contest between a supporter of US President Donald Trump and a pro-EU mayor, which could reshape the course of the key NATO member that borders war-torn Ukraine. RFI English's Jan van der Made went to meet some of the voters.
"Nicosur (Dan) is the one who can keep order," says Eugenia, referring to the centrist mayor of Bucharest. Eugenia is almost 90 years old. She walks with difficulty, supporting herself with a cane, but today's vote is crucial for her.
"I had 60 years taken by the communist regime. And I had enough.
Eugenia says she's "almost sure" that communism could come back if the nationalist Pro-Russian George Simion were to win.
"The Russians are very interested in our country, they invaded Romania seven times," she said.
Decebal, 55, voted for Simion. He wants change and hopes for an improvement in living standards. "Inflation is high and wages are low. We're forced to have several jobs," he told RFI. "Simion promised change in this direction. Now we wait and see."
If nationalist George Simion wins the rerun, held after last year's vote was annulled over allegations of election interference, he would become the country's first far-right president.
That would make Romania part of a growing group of EU members with nationalist leaders critical of Brussels and keen to cut military aid to Ukraine.
But in this more affluent part of Bucharest, it's hard to find voters who support Simion.
Jonas, sporting a bright red jacket and a black T-shirt, is also voting for Dan, and "hopefully for a continuous future within the European Union," he says.
He is not surprised by the sudden rise in popularity of the far-right AUR party and its leader George Simion, the other presidential candidate.
"We're not yet at the point where we understand that we needed to grow slowly to reach where we want to be. Everyone wants to move faster and faster, but sometimes speed isn’t always the best thing.."
Jonas hopes that being part of the EU would give "more opportunities to the young people" to "grow inside the Union."
Patricia (20) agrees, Nicosor Dan's values "align" with her own, she says. But she was surprised about the sudden rise in popularity of the nationalists in the first round of the elections. Although she belongs to the Tiktok generation, she has no account. "Not my style," she says curtly, before heading off.
Mirca, who lives in Colombia and is one of Romania's four million people living abroad, happened to be in Bucharest during the vote. He was surprised and concerned about the high level of popularity of Simion among Romanians abroad.
"I think there is a lot of misinformation in these elections and people are getting ideas about what is good for the country... For me it is about how to remain stable, as a member of the European community, supporting each other, supporting the Ukrainian cause," he says.
Marcel, another voter, says he was not surprised about the surge in popularity of the far right. "I believe it stems from the frustration that has built up in society over the past decades due to successive governments making numerous promises but consistently failing to fulfil them. I understand that people have been deceived time and again." he says.
But whoever wins will face Romania's massive economic problems, and will have to "provide some solutions," he adds.
Apart from that, Marcel says that the new president will face some "tough external policy questions," like the situation in Ukraine and the relationship with the EU and the US.
"We may or may not like it, but the current US government is still one of our strategic partners," he says.
Polling stations will close at 9pm local time, with exit polls to be published shortly afterwards and results expected to come in overnight.
The latest opinion polls predict a very close race, suggesting that Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician, has managed to narrow the lead that Simion, a former football hooligan, holds.
