Luiza Ilia
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romania’s ruling left-wing Social Democrats (PSD) looked set to win the most votes in Sunday’s parliamentary election, defeating a renewed far-right movement challenging the country’s pro-Western orientation, an exit poll showed.
This is the second of three consecutive votes for both the new parliament and the new president, after in the first round of the presidential elections on November 24, the far-right independent candidate, Calin Georgescu, emerged from relative obscurity and became the main candidate.
His surprise victory opened up support for ultra-nationalist, hard-right parties, some of which have openly pro-Russian sympathies, which could undermine Romania’s support for Ukraine and pave the way for illiberal policies, political analysts say.
Exit polls showed PSD won 26% of the vote, ahead of the far-right Alliance for the Unification of Romania (AUR) with 19%. PSD has 32.5 percent of the seats in the current parliament, while AUR has 8.5 percent.
Social Democratic Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu came third in the first round of presidential voting, after a campaign dominated by voters’ concerns about the cost of living and anger at the main parties’ infighting and allegations of corruption.
