Romanians headed back to the polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament, with the prospect of a far-right victory heralding a shift in the foreign policy of the NATO country bordering Ukraine.
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00:00Romanians are viewing these elections as an extension of the first round of the last week's controversial presidential election.
00:08The parliamentary vote pits two very opposite visions for the direction of the country against each other.
00:15On the one side, an unofficial bloc of parties who have been labelled as sovereignists,
00:21who want to have more decisions about Romania made in Romania.
00:26They also want to reduce military support to Kiev and have called for an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
00:33The parties that make up that unofficial group are frequently labelled by their opponents as far-right
00:40and include the AUR, with around 22% of public support, as well as the smaller POT and SOS Romania.
00:48On the other side, a bloc supporting stronger EU integration, which unequivocally stands behind Ukraine
00:55and insists on Russia's defeat on the battlefield.
00:59That bloc is led by the PSD and USR, which together have almost 40% of public support.
01:06Voter turnout is reportedly very high.
01:09By the early afternoon, it had already surpassed the turnout from the last parliamentary elections four years ago.
01:16It is also expected to be higher than the turnout at the last week's presidential vote.
01:22It just shows that the Romanians consider these elections to be crucial for the future of their country.