Romanian leftists are ahead of the resurgent right-wing extremist in the exit polls

By Luiza Ilie

BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romania’s ruling left-wing Social Democrats (PSD) are expected to win the most votes in a parliamentary election on Sunday and defeat a resurgent far-right movement that is challenging the country’s pro-Western orientation, an exit poll showed.

The vote is the second of three consecutive votes on a new parliament and president after an independent far-right candidate, Calin Georgescu, rose from relative obscurity to become the frontrunner in the first round of presidential elections on November 24.

His unexpected victory led to support for ultra-nationalist, far-right parties, some of which had apparent pro-Russian sympathies, which could undermine Romania’s support for Ukraine and pave the way for illiberal policies, political analysts said.

Election polls showed the PSD won 26% of the vote, ahead of the far-right Alliance to Unify Romanians (AUR) with 19%. The PSD has 32.5% of the seats in the current parliament, while the AUR has 8.5%.

Social Democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu came third in the first round of the presidential election after a campaign dominated by voters’ concerns about the cost of living and anger over mainstream parties’ infighting and corruption allegations.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie, editing by Justyna Pawlak, Timothy Heritage and Bernadette Baum)