Poll/Bucharesters prefer USR for parliamentary elections - Baluta (PSD), Ciucu (PNL) for Bucharest City Hall

Save Romania Union (USR) would rank first in parliamentary elections if they were held within a week, while Daniel Baluta (Social Democratic Party - PSD) and Ciprian Ciucu (National Liberal Party - PNL) are the preferred candidates for the Bucharest City Hall, according to an Avangarde poll sent to AGERPRES on Sunday.

The poll was conducted on a sample of 1,070 individuals and is representative of the adult population in Bucharest Municipality. The margin of error is ą3.2%.

The interviews were carried out by telephone, between 22 and 30 August.

When asked 'What is the most important problem in Bucharest Municipality?,' 22% of respondents cited road infrastructure, 18% mentioned traffic congestion, 9% pointed to politics, 8% each said pollution, health and education. Other concerns included: parking spaces (6%), drug use (5%), district heating (5%), green spaces (4%), cleanliness (3%) and pedestrian infrastructure (2%). The remainder did not respond.

Asked about the most important investment needed in the Capital, 29% selected the construction of a new hospital, 18% said completion of the A0 ring road, 16% mentioned replacing the district heating pipes, and 11% prioritised building more parking facilities. Other suggested priorities included: street modernisation in neighbourhoods (8%), building new nurseries (7%), real estate development (4%), construction of a multi-purpose hall (4%) and construction of an ice rink (2%).

In response to the question 'If the mayoral elections for Bucharest Municipality were held next Sunday, who would you personally vote for?, ' 72% of respondents named a specific candidate.

The top candidates were: Daniel Baluta (PSD) and Ciprian Ciucu (PNL), each with 25% of the vote, followed by Catalin Drula (USR) with 20%, Anca Alexandrescu (independent) with 18%, Vlad Gheorghe (DREPT) with 5%, Ana Ciceala (SENS) with 2% and Octavian Berceanu (independent) also with 2%.

A share of 3% of respondents chose another candidate not listed above.

When asked which party or alliance they would vote for if parliamentary elections were held next Sunday, respondents answered as follows: USR - 25%; Alliance for Romanians' Union - AUR - 23%; PSD - 20%; PNL - 18%; Social Liberal Humanist Party - PUSL - 5%; SOS Romania - 3%; People's Movement Party (PMP) - 2%; DREPT - 2%; SENS - 1%; other parties - 1%.