By Ahmet Gencturk
ATHENS (AA) - Romania heads to the polls for 1st round of the presidential elections after the top court annulled the process that was held last November-December, citing its constitutional mandate to ensure the legality and fairness of electoral procedures.
The Permanent Electoral Authority said nearly 17.99 million people are eligible to vote.
Voting will start at 7 a.m. (0400GMT) at local time and continue until 9 p.m.
Voting for more than 1 million Romanians living abroad started Friday, and as of late Saturday over 400,000 had cast votes, according to Romanian media.
Opinion surveys predict right-wing candidate George Simion to come first among 11 candidates.
Romania held the first round of the presidential election on Nov. 24, which was won by pro-Russian far-right candidate Calin Gorgescu.
On Dec. 6, the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential run-off scheduled for Dec. 8, and the results of the first round of the Nov. 24 election, arguing that the election process was manipulated by a Russia-supported campaign in favor of Georgescu.