The center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD) of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu looked set to secure about a quarter of the vote, beating the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), with just under 20 percent, into second place.
Ciolacu hailed the strong showing by his party as evidence that the country of 19 million could stick to its pro-EU trajectory: “It’s an important signal Romanians sent to the political class: to continue developing the country with European money, but at the same time to protect our identity, national values and faith.”
To govern, the PSD will have to form a coalition that might include the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL), its current governing partner, along with others.
When it comes to the presidency the picture is more complex, as neither the PSD nor PNL has qualified for the second round.
Instead it has fallen to the liberal Elena Lasconi, leader of the reformist Save Romania Union (USR), to go head-to-head with Georgescu in the second round of the presidential vote on Dec. 8.
On its own, the USR — with one exit poll suggesting support of about 15.5 percent, but early results suggesting a far lower figure — appears to trail three far-right parties by some distance. In addition to AUR’s support of just under 20 percent on the far right, polls and early results showed another 10 percent to 12 percent going to two smaller hard-right parties.
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