Exit polls show Romania's leftists winning parliamentary vote

By Radu-Sorin Marinas and Luiza Ilie

BUCHAREST, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Romania's leftist Social Democrats (PSD) won Sunday's parliamentary election by a wide margin, exit polls showed, putting them in a strong position to form a coalition government with a junior ally.

Seeking re-election a year after the coalition it led stepped down amid street protests over its failure to address corruption, the PSD appears to have won the support of many Romanians with promises of increased social spending.

Exit polls conducted by CURS-Avangarde and IRES showed the PSD winning close to 46 percent of the vote, followed by the centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL) with about 22 percent. The Save Romania Union party, a newcomer to Romanian politics, was seen winning around 9.2 percent.

The Central Electoral Bureau is expected to release first official partial results on Monday morning.

Observers said a PSD-led government would likely bloat public spending, raising the risk that Romanian fiscal deficits could exceed the European Union's 3 percent of GDP limits.

With its leader, Liviu Dragnea, convicted of vote-rigging in April, the PSD is also seen as a threat to Romania's recent efforts to step up anti-corruption reforms.

"I am ... overwhelmed by the result," Dragnea said after the exit poll results were announced.

"Romania is an island of stability in the region. All political factors must understand and respect today's vote."

Dragnea also said his party will start talks to form a parliamentary majority with long-time ally ALDE, expected to take about 6 percent of the vote.

A calculation by private television Antena 3 based on raw official ballot data showed PSD winning 47 percent and ALDE 5 percent.

"In the coming days, PSD and ALDE will begin discussions in order to form a new majority in parliament ... Today's vote clearly indicates Romanians' choice for a future government," Dragnea said in a statement.

POLICY TURNAROUND

The election follows a year of a technocrat government in Romania - the EU's fastest-growing economy but also one of its poorest - put in place after massive street protests brought down the previous PSD-led government.

Triggered by a deadly fire in the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest that lacked emergency exits and other safety measures, the protests called for sweeping change in Romania to address chronically inept public administration and graft.

But many of the younger voters who took to the streets then failed to vote on Sunday, underscoring a lack of trust that reforms can take root.

The PSD's electorate traditionally stems from older, poorer Romanians, eager to hear the party's message that centres around public sector wage hikes, tax cuts and higher pensions.

"The exit polls results mean that we will have a leftist government," said political commentator Mircea Marian. "The main problem is that, step by step, very slowly, they will likely change legislation in the anti-corruption field."

Both PSD and ALDE politicians have accused anti-corruption prosecutors, who have won EU praise for their efforts, of being politically motivated in their investigations. Dragnea told reporters in June that Romanians must choose between "better bread or handcuffs."

During its previous years in government, between 2012-2015, the PSD reversed austerity policies put in place after a 2008 real estate crash by cutting taxes and raising the minimum wage and public-sector pay.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, now expects Romania's deficit to quadruple from 0.8 percent of economic output in 2015 to 3.2 percent in 2017 under European accounting terms. </s> The head of the Social Democrat Party, Liviu Dragnea, speaks to media after exit polls were announced in the parliamentary elections in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016. Two exit polls give Romania's left-leaning Social Democrats a huge lead in a parliamentary election placing them first with about 45 percent while the center-right Liberals came second with about 21 percent of the vote, although these are provisional estimates. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's left-leaning Social Democrats easily won parliamentary elections a year after a major anti-corruption drive forced the last Socialist prime minister from power, near-final results released Monday showed.

Election authorities said that with 99 percent of the votes from Sunday's balloting counted, the Social Democratic Party had won about 46 percent and the center-right Liberals were second with over 20 percent.

The chairman of the Social Democrats, Liviu Dragnea, spoke Sunday after exit polls showed similar results. "There should be no doubt who won the elections," he said. "Romanians want to feel at home in their own country and I want Romania to be a good home for all Romanians."

Dragnea got a two-year suspended prison sentence in April for voter fraud for inflating voter numbers in a July 2012 referendum to impeach then-President Traian Basescu.

Under a 2001 law, Dragnea is not allowed to be appointed prime minister because of the conviction, and last week he said the party would not try to change the law. However, he told Romania TV Monday that he had not ruled himself out as a future premier.

President Klaus Iohannis has said he will not nominate a premier who has been convicted or who is a subject of a corruption investigation.

Dragnea's party has pushed a populist agenda, but on Sunday he sought to strike a conciliatory note, saying he wanted to end bitter divisions in the country.

The Save Romania Union, a new party that ran on an anti-corruption ticket, finished third, allowing it to enter Parliament. A party needs 5 percent of the votes to enter the bicameral legislature. Votes from parties that do not make the threshold are redistributed.

Turnout for the election was low, at just 39.5 percent, more than two percentage points less than the 2012 parliamentary elections.

Former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, already the subject of a corruption probe, resigned after mass protests following a nightclub fire in October 2015 that killed 64 people. Romania is currently run by a government of technocrats headed by Premier Dacian Ciolos, a former European Union agriculture commissioner.

The country of about 19 million people is one of the poorest in the 28-member European Union and perceived as one of the most corrupt. </s> BUCHAREST, Romania — Romanian voters appeared to return the center-left Social Democratic Party to power in parliamentary elections on Sunday, a year after large protests in Bucharest over a deadly nightclub fire led to the resignation of the party’s previous government.

With more than 90 percent of the vote counted, the Social Democratic Party led with just over 46 percent. Its main rival, the National Liberal Party, trailed by more than 25 percentage points.

If that lead bears out, the Social Democratic Party will be in a position to lead the country in a coalition with the smaller Alliance of Liberals and Democrats party, which appeared to have just over 5 percent of the vote.

“Today, citizens voted for economic growth, for jobs, for more money into the pockets of Romanians,” Liviu Dragnea, the Social Democratic Party leader, said in a statement after exit polls pointed to a victory for the party. </s> Election authorities said that with 99 of the votes from Sunday's balloting counted, the Social Democratic Party led with about 46 and the -right Liberals were second with over 20 .

The chairman of the Social Democrats, Liviu Dragnea, spoke Sunday after exit polls were released showing similar results. "There should be no doubt who won the elections," he said. "Romanians want to feel at home in their own country and I want Romania to be a good home for all Romanians."

Dragnea got a two-year suspended prison sentence in April for voter fraud for inflating voter numbers in a July 2012 referendum to impeach then-President Traian Basescu.

Dragnea's party has pushed a populist agenda, but on Sunday he sought to strike a conciliatory note, saying he wanted to end bitter divisions in the country.

The Save Romania Union, a new party that ran on an anti-corruption ticket, finished third, allowing it to enter Parliament. A party needs 5 of the votes to enter the bicameral legislature. Votes from parties that do not make the threshold are redistributed.

Turnout for the election was low, at just 39.5 , more than two percentage points less than the 2012 parliamentary elections.

Former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, already the subject of a corruption probe, resigned after mass protests following a nightclub fire in October 2015 that killed 64 people. Romania is currently run by a government of technocrats headed by Premier Dacian Ciolos, a former European Union agriculture commissioner.

The country of about 19 million people is one of the poorest in the 28-member European Union and perceived as one of the most corrupt.
Romanians head to the polls in the country's parliamentary elections. Exit polls show the Social Democratic Party winning by a wide margin.