Voters in Poland, Romania and Portugal head to the polls on Sunday. The elections are expected to strengthen populist parties potentially giving them enough influence to become kingmakers.
Here's a roundup of the key political contenders and the issues likely to sway voters as they cast their ballots.
Romania: Hard-right sceptic vs centrist independent
Romanians are voting Sunday in a presidential election run-off that pits a hard-right eurosceptic against a centrist independent, and where the outcome could have implications for both the country's struggling economy and EU unity.
Hard-right nationalist George Simion, 38, who opposes military aid to neighbouring Ukraine and is critical of European Union leadership, decisively swept the first presidential election round, triggering the collapse of a pro-Western coalition government. That led to significant capital outflows.
Centrist Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan, 55, who has pledged to clamp down on corruption, is staunchly pro-EU and NATO, and has said Romania's support for Ukraine is vital for its own security against a growing Russian threat.
The president of the EU and NATO state has considerable powers, not least being in charge of the defence council that decides on military aid. He will also have oversight of foreign policy, with the power to veto EU votes that require unanimity.
Whoever is elected will also need to nominate a prime minister to negotiate a new majority in parliament to reduce Romania's budget deficit - the largest in the EU - as well as reassure investors and try to avoid a credit rating downgrade.
In the first-round vote, Simion won a massive 61% of Romania’s large diaspora vote, with his calls to patriotism resonating with Romanians who moved abroad in search of better opportunities.
An opinion poll on Friday showed Dan slightly ahead of Simion for the first time since the first round in a tight race that will depend on turnout and the sizable Romanian diaspora.
A former activist who campaigned for reunification with neighboring Moldova, Simion says he would focus on reforms: slashing red tape, reducing bureaucracy and taxes. Still, he insists that restoring democracy is his priority, returning "the will of the people.”
His AUR party says it stands for “family, nation, faith, and freedom” and rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election. It has since grown to become the second-largest party in the Romanian legislature.
His critics say Simion is a pro-Russian extremist who threatens Romania’s longstanding alliances in the EU and NATO.
In an Associated Press interview, he rejected the accusations, saying Russia is his country’s biggest threat and that he wants Romania to be treated as “equal partners” in Brussels.
Voting starts at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) and ends at 9 p.m.
Poland: Test of pro-Europe vision
Poles voting in a presidential election on Sunday will be deciding whether Warsaw follows the pro-European path set by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, or take a step towards bringing back the nationalist admirers of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump's return to power has energised eurosceptics across Europe, and Sunday's ballot will be the sternest test of Tusk's pro-European vision since he came to power in 2023, ousting the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party.
The election pits Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, from Tusk's Civic Coalition, against conservative historian Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by PiS. Trzaskowski has been cast as the frontrunner, likely to face Nawrocki in a run-off, due on June 1, if no candidate wins over 50%. Media blackout laws forbid the publication of opinion poll results from early on Saturday until voting ends on Sunday.
Also competing are far-right candidate Slawomir Mentzen from the Confederation party, Parliament Speaker Szymon Holownia of the centre-right Poland 2050 and Magdalena Biejat from the Left.
The Polish president has limited executive powers but can veto legislation. That has allowed outgoing President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, to stymie efforts by Tusk to undo judicial changes implemented under the PiS, which Tusk says hamper democracy.
Trzaskowski has pledged to cement Poland's role as a major player at the heart of European policymaking and work with the government to roll back PiS's judicial changes.
"I would definitely strengthen relations with our partners... within NATO and the EU," he told state broadcaster TVP Info on Friday. "I will also ask lawmakers to give me the bills Duda vetoed to sign... I also hope that we will end the chaos in the justice system that PiS left us."
Polls in Poland opened at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and close at 9 p.m. Around 29 million people are eligible to vote.
Portugal: Toughened immigration stance
Portugal go to the polls Sunday in the country's third general election in three years, with Prime Minister Luis Montenegro tipped to win, without securing a majority in parliament.
Final surveys indicate his centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) is ahead of the Socialist Party (PS) and will likely pick up more seats -- but once again fall short of the 116 seats needed in Portugal's 230-seat parliament for majority rule.
The populist far-right Chega party is on track to finish third once more, making it a potential kingmaker although Montenegro has refused to govern with the formation.
Polling stations in the nation of around 10 million open at 8 am (0700 GMT) and close at 8 pm, with final results expected several hours later.
At a final rally in Lisbon on Friday, Montenegro urged voters to give him a stronger mandate so Portugal can better face this "geopolitical turmoil".
"We have to do our part at home, and we have to be part of the solutions abroad, in Europe and in the world. And for that we need a strong government," he said.
PS leader Pedro Nuno Santos, a 48-year-old economist, has accused Montenegro of engineering the elections "to avoid explaining himself" about the firm to a parliamentary inquiry.
But only one in five voters feel the case is "very important" while 29 percent think it has no importance at all, according to a final pre-election opinion survey carried out by Lisbon's Catholic University released on Thursday.
Portuguese voters "have a certain tolerance" for such conflict-of-interest cases, said University of Lisbon political scientist Felipa Raimundo.
"It hasn't really had the dimension that the opposition would have hoped for in the campaign," she added.
Montenegro has cut income taxes for youths, raised pensions and toughened immigration policy, vowing to put an end to what he called a "wide-open doors" policy.
Under a previous PS government, Portugal became one of Europe's most open countries for immigrants. Between 2017 and 2024, the number of foreigners living in Portugal quadrupled, reaching about 15 percent of the total population.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters, AP)
English (US) · 