Exit poll: Romania’s Social Democrats lead in parliamentary vote, but hard-right momentum builds

BUCHAREST — Romania’s center-left Social Democrats are on track to win the most seats in Sunday’s parliamentary election, according to an exit poll, but the success of far-right parties also seemed to confirm a trend seen in the first round of the country’s presidential election last week.

Official results are expected to trickle in through the night and could ultimately differ dramatically from the exit poll results, as happened in the first round of the presidential election last Sunday.

The poll had the Social Democratic Party (PSD) of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu winning 26 percent of votes in Sunday’s parliamentary race, while the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) came in second on 19 percent. 

The parliamentary vote comes amid a political crisis sparked by last Sunday’s unexpected victory by Călin Georgescu, an ultranationalist, Russia-admiring independent candidate for president.

In a potential signal of how the second presidential round could go, the far-right momentum that boosted Georgescu was also visible in the parliamentary vote. In addition to AUR, two other far-right parties, S.O.S. Romania and the Party of Young People, each got 5.5 percent support, just above the threshold to obtain seats in parliament, according to the exit poll, which was conducted by the CURS agency.

The reformist Union to Save Romania (USR) and the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL) are each expected to receive 15.5 percent of the votes. 

USR is the party of Elena Lasconi, the liberal leader currently set to face off against Georgescu in the race for the presidency next Sunday.

To govern, PSD will have to form a coalition that might include PNL, its current governing partner. It could also have to turn to Lasconi’s USR, but that would place her in a difficult bind as she does npt wnat to associate herself with the distrusted old majority parties.

Ciolacu hailed the strong showing by his party as a sign the country could keep on the pro-EU track: “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.”

The three far-right parties — seen as more of a danger to Bucharest’s position within the EU and NATO — would not be able to form a coalition with majority support, according to the exit poll results.

Just over half of Romania’s eligible voters — about 52 percent — voted in Sunday’s parliamentary election.

The Constitutional Court ordered a ballot recount for the first round of the presidential election following an allegation of fraud from one of the 13 candidates, European Parliamentarian Cristian Terheș, who obtained about 1 percent of the vote.

The court will meet on Monday to decide whether to annul the first round of the presidential election.

A court annulment would pour fuel on an already brisk political blaze as it would harden suspicions that Romania’s traditional ruling parties — PSD and PNL — are trying to manipulate the vote.