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Romania's Iohannis Will Face Presidential Runoff, Exit Polls Show

By RFE/RL's Romanian Service November 10, 2019

Romania's pro-European Union incumbent President Klaus Iohannis has taken a big lead in the first round of the country's presidential election, according to two exit polls.

The exit polls, conducted by IRES and Curs-Avangarde and issued shortly after voting ended at 9 p.m. local time on November 10, show Iohannis with 38.7 and 39 percent of the vote, respectively.

The polls indicate that he will face the recently ousted prime minister, Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader Viorica Dancila, in a runoff.

Dancila garnered 22 percent of votes, the two polls suggest, while Dan Barna, who heads Romania's third largest party -- the center-right Save Romania Union (USR), came third with 16.1 and 17 percent of the votes.

However, the exit polls did not take into account expat votes, with local television stations reporting that a record 700,000 ballots have been cast so far by the Romanian diaspora.

Data by the Central Election Bureau showed turnout of nearly 48 percent.

If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the first-round vote, a second round of voting will take place on November 24.

Iohannis, who faced a total of 13 candidates in the first-round, claimed victory in front of cheering supporters at his campaign headquarters.

"But the war is not over, we have to take another step forward in two weeks," the 60-year-old leader said, referring to the second round ballot.

Dancila said she was "happy" with the results from the exit polls, adding: "We are present in the second round."

Meanwhile, Barna expressed confidence that he could reach the second round of voting, saying "Romanians abroad are still voting."

Iohannis's candidacy was supported by the ruling center-right National Liberal Party (PNL) that he once headed and which now leads the newly installed minority government of Prime Minister Ludovic Orban.

"I voted for a normal Romania," Iohannis told reporters at a Bucharest polling station earlier on November 10, echoing a campaign phrase. He called it "an extremely important day for Romania, but also, I admit, for me."

Iohannis says he wants to modernize Romania's state institutions to prevent the kind of corruption scandals the country has faced for years.

He has vowed to continue strengthening the rule of law and to support anti-corruption measures, particularly within the judiciary, "in order to eliminate the toxic interventions of the past years."

Dancila, who had been Romania's prime minister until last month when she was ousted by a parliamentary vote of no confidence, told supporters she voted "for a safe and dignified Romania."

"I voted against austerity, against the cutting of pensions and salaries," the 55-year-old said.

The PSD is Romania's largest political party but is in disarray after years of corruption scandals.

There have been internal battles within the PSD over who should lead the party following her ouster as head of government.

Barna is a 44-year-old lawyer whose allies are similarly pro-EU politicians who'd been in the opposition against the PSD-led government until Dancila's recent ouster.

Barna's USR has formed an electoral alliance with Romania's centrist Liberty, Unity, and Solidarity Party (PLUS), which was founded in 2018 by former Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos.

At a Sibiu polling station on November 10, Barna stressed the inclusion in the current vote of "the post-1989 generation."

"Here is the power of the citizens," Barna said. "Express your faith for the future of Romania, whatever that faith is."

With reporting by AP and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/romania-s-iohannis -wins-presidential-vote-to-face- runoff-exit-polls-show/30262971.html

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Romania's Iohannis Will Face Presidential Runoff, Exit Polls Show