Exit polls: Romania's presidential poll tight

Romania's run-off presidential election has produced a tight race between the premier, Victor Ponta, and rival conservative Klaus Iohannis, according to exit polls. Expatriates have charged that polling was bungled.

Deutsche Welle, 16 Nov 2014

Exit polls published on Sunday as polling ended in Romania's second-round presidential election indicated a potential upset, after Ponta had been widely forecast to win the presidential race.

The 42-year-old Ponta, a Social Democrat, who is currently prime minister, was slightly ahead, according to two exit polls which gave him 50.7 percent and 50.9 percent respectively.

Surveys beforehand had pointed to
a Ponta win

But, two other surveys put Iohannis narrowly in the lead, and one split exactly down the middle.

The 55-year-old Iohannis belongs to Romania's opposition center-right and is the ethnic German mayor of Romania's western Transylvanian city of Sibiu.

Official results were expected on Monday and speculation mounted on late Sunday that it could lie in the hands of expatriate voters abroad.

Expatriate vote a boon for Iohannis?

Early figures indicated that around 285,000 Romanians voted abroad on Sunday -- around twice as many as on November 2.

Turnout comparatively high

Sunday's turnout, put at beyond 58 percent among 18 million eligible voters, was among the highest in any Romanian election over the past two decades in the former communist state.

In the first round on November 2, Ponta had finished on 40 percent, beating Iohannis who took 30 percent.

Sunday's Romanian run-off was widely seen as pivotal for democracy in one of the European Union's most troubled nations, which is also close to the flashpoint, Ukraine.

Romania is emerging from budget cuts imposed during the global slowdown. Growth rebounded in the third quarter of 2014. It has a reputation for corruption and tax evasion.

Sunday's turnout was put by officials at 58.6 percent two hours before the polls closed, significantly higher than the final 52 percent recorded during the election's first round on November 2.

Exit for Basescu

Whoever wins Sunday's run-off will replace Ponta's rival, President Traian Basescu, who after 10 years was excluded from a third term. Ponta and Basescu often feuded, prompting constitutional wrangles.

The election lead-up had been dominated with debate about the Romanian government's anti-corruption efforts. Senior Ponta aides have faced corruption probes. Iohanis had advocate judicial reform.

Expat vote could be decisive

The close potential outcome placed the focus on Sunday on returns from Romanian expatriates, who account for three million of the 18 million electorate.

Long lines formed on Sunday at foreign polling stations in cities such as Paris, Berlin and Vienna, prompting voters to assert that balloting had been intentionally bungled.

Hundreds of people had also protested in Bucharest, calling on the government to extend voting abroad.

Romanian authorities, however, said procedures had been improved. Romanians living abroad were required to vote in their countries of residence.

Expatriates traditionally vote conservative, said Christian Ghinea of the Romanian Center for European Politics. If mobilized, Iohannis had a chance, he said.

Sergiu Miscoiu, an analyst with the CESPRI political think tank, said Ponta had made a "major mistake" by ostracizing expatriate Romanians.

"The main result of that was not necessarily the diaspora vote, but the solidarity with it in Romania," Miscoiu said.

Presidency powerful post

Whoever emerges as Romania's next president will be in charge of foreign policy and defense, and name key public prosecutors and the chiefs of intelligence.

The powerful post was created under the late Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1974.

ipj/pfd (dpa, AFP, AP, Reuters)

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