EUROPE’S voters have delivered a crushing blow to Putin in a shock election twist, following a re-run after claims of Russian meddling.
Millions of Europeans headed to the polls today in what is being called a Super Sunday showdown.
Shutterstock EditorialFar-right candidate George Simion casts his vote during Romania’s presidential election in Bucharest[/caption]
EPANicusor Dan is expected to win the election, according to exit polls[/caption]
ReutersRomania’s elections had to be redone due to claims of Russian meddling last year[/caption]
Romania’s far-right candidate George Simion has long been the favourite to win the country’s presidential election.
Simion comfortably won the first round of voting on May 4 with 41 per cent of the vote – double that of rival Nicusor Dan.
But Dan snagged the win in what proved to be a nail-biting finish.
Dan’s win comes as a massive blow to Putin who has the support of the far-right.
Simion’s campaign was reportedly inspired by US MAGA politicians, with the far-right candidate promising to “make Romania great again”.
His win would have been welcome news to Putin, with the former football ultra previously pledging to end military aid to Kyiv.
Simion has also been banned from the war-torn country for calling for territory there to be part of Romania.
A Romanian politician, Siegfried Mureşan, celebrated the result as he said a win for Simion would “benefit only Vladimir Putin”.
But it appears Simion has not taken the defeat well, as footage shows him on stage publicly rejecting the outcome of the exit polls.
This comes as the result of last year’s presidential election was scrapped after claims of Russian meddling emerged.
It is thought that Russia helped set up unverified social media TikTok accounts in support of the far-right independent candidate Calin Georgescu who came out on top.
The pro-Georgescu videos posted on TikTok were not labelled as election content, directly breaching Romania’s laws.
Moscow denied interfering in the vote.
Millions of Europeans headed to the polls today in what has been dubbed Super Sunday, with Romania, Poland and Portugal holding elections.
The first round of Poland’s presidential election has also proved to be a kick in the teeth to Vlad, with exit polls suggesting that Warsaw’s liberal Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski will take the win.
The Russian tyrant was likely hoping for a far-right candidate to win, with many of those in the running holding anti-Ukraine views.
A number of candidates even discussed backing an “agreement” with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in their election campaigns.
And in the Portuguese elections the centre-right appears to be ahead, as the far-right sees yet another fall.
GettyPoles cast their votes in the polling station in Gdansk, Poland[/caption]
ReutersA child casts a ballot in lieu of her relative at a polling station in Espinho, Portugal[/caption]