By Luiza Ilie
BUCHAREST (Reuters) -Romania’s ruling leftist Social Democrats (PSD) looked set to win the most votes in a parliamentary election on Sunday, defeating a resurgent far-right movement challenging the country’s pro-Western orientation, an exit poll showed.
The vote is the second of three consecutive ballots for both a new parliament and a new president, after the first round of the presidential election on Nov. 24 saw an independent far-right candidate, Calin Georgescu, emerge from relative obscurity to become the frontrunner.
His unexpected win ushered in support for ultranationalist, hard-right parties, some with overt pro-Russian sympathies, which could undermine Romania’s backing for Ukraine and open the way for illiberal policies, political analysts said.
Exit polls showed the PSD winning 26% of votes, ahead of the hard-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR) at 19%. The PSD has 32.5% of seats in the current parliament, while AUR has 8.5%.
Social Democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu ranked third in the presidential ballot first round, after a campaign dominated by voters’ concern over the cost of living and anger at mainstream parties’ infighting and corruption allegations.
(Reporting by Luiza IlieEditing by Justyna Pawlak, Timothy Heritage and Bernadette Baum)
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