Romania's ruling left-wing Social Democratic Party (PSD) won the most votes in Sunday's parliamentary elections, according to exit polls, appearing to defeat a resurgence of far-right movements challenging the country's pro-Western orientation.
The vote comes after relatively unknown independent far-right candidate Karin Georgescu emerged as the frontrunner in the first round of the presidential election on November 24, after three rounds to decide the new parliament and president. This is the second round of voting.
His unexpected victory boosted support for ultranationalist, far-right parties, some of which are overtly pro-Russian, and political analysts say this could weaken Romania's support for Ukraine and increase opposition. He pointed out that this could pave the way for liberal policies.
Exit polls on Sunday showed the PSD gaining 26% of the vote, ahead of the far-right Union Romania (AUR) with 19%. In the last parliament, the PSD held 32.5% of the seats and the AUR had 8.5%.
Outgoing Social Democratic Prime Minister Marcel Ciolak came third in the first round of the presidential vote after a campaign dominated by voters' concerns about the cost of living and anger over infighting and corruption allegations within mainstream parties. It became.
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