(ANSA) - BUCAREST, MAY 3 - With the early opening of polling stations abroad, the new round of presidential elections in Romania opened. The first section opened to Romanians in the diaspora was in Auckland, New Zealand (at 7:00 a.m. local time). According to the local press, the number of those who have already voted abroad is almost three times as high as in the first round in November 2024, which was won by surprise by right-wing extremist Calin Georgescu and then annulled by the Constitutional Court just two days before the runoff in December due to irregularities in his campaign financing, and heavy Russian interference. Also in these new elections, the favorite is another ultra-rightist, George Simion, leader of the sovereignist Aur party, who, however, is expected to have to go to the runoff. According to Digi24, by mid-day today more than 181,000 voters abroad had turned out to the polls, and nearly 30,000 votes were registered in Italy alone, where 161 polling stations have been set up for the large Romanian community. Tomorrow, polling stations in Romania will remain open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time (6 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time), and the first exit polls are expected soon afterwards. (ANSA).