Bucharest – Partial results announced on Monday confirmed the official exit polls released late on Sunday at the end of Romania’s presidential elections nationwide, with incumbent President Klaus Iohannis leading.
Iohannis was leading his main rival with more than 10 percentage points after counting votes from more than 95 per cent of polling stations nationwide.
The incumbent president, 60, is running for a second term on behalf of the ruling Liberal National Party.
Based on the first partial results announced by Mircea Preotescu, spokesman for the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) Iohannis got 36.91 per cent of the votes, while Social Democrat leader Viorica Dancila came second with 23.45 per cent.
Dan Barna, president of Save Romania Union, came third with 14.19 per cent.
The relatively newcomer to politics had always been considered one of the most powerful contenders for the next president, but failed to enter the runoff.
Although the statistics of overseas ballots have not been included in this partial results, it will no longer affect the ranking, considering the relatively large gap between the main candidates’ domestic votes.
According to the BEC, the voter turnout was 47.77 per cent of all registered voters nationwide.
Going by provisions of the Constitution, Iohannis and Dancila are set to contest the presidential run-off two weeks later, on Nov. 24, in which the candidate who gets the highest number of valid votes will be the winner.
The presidential elections were held in Romania on Sunday, with a total of 14 candidates competing for the state’s top position.
Romania’s president is elected every five years, with two successive terms allowed.