Romania's Social Democratic Party wins parl elections by slim margin - prelim results

Speaking shortly after the release of the first exit polls, PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu said that his party would not go for an alliance with the right-wing National Liberal Party, PNL, led by incumbent prime minister Ludovic Orban.

PNL won 25.11% of votes for the Chamber of Deputies and 25.5% of votes for Senate, making it the second biggest party in Romania's next parliament, according to data of the central electoral commission, BEC, based on 95% of the ballots cast.

The preliminary results do not include the over 265,000 votes cast by Romanians living abroad.

The PSD has four nominations for prime minister: ex-prime ministers Sorin Grindeanu and Mihai Tudose, MP Vasile Dincu and Alexandru Rafila, MP and World Health Organization representative for Romania, Ciolacu said in a televised statement broadcast by Digi 24 on Sunday evening.

Third came the centre-right alliance formed by Save Romania Union (USR) and PLUS parties, which got 14.5% of votes for the Chamber of Deputies and 15% for the Senate.

Right-wing nationalist political party Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) got 8.7% of the votes for the Chamber of Deputies and 8.8% for the Senate.

The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) garnered 6% of votes for the Chamber of Deputies and 6.2% of votes for the Senate.

Centre-right Popular Movement Party (PMP) founded by Romania's ex-president Traian Basescu and and left-wing party Pro Romania led by ex-prime minister Victor Ponta could not pass the 5% barrier for entry into parliament, according to preliminary data.

Turnout stood at 31.84%. This compares to a 39.49% turnout in 2016, 41.72% in 2012 and 29.67% in 2008.

Some 5.79 million people out of total 18.19 million citizens eligible to vote cast their ballots on Sunday. Some 3.1 million voted in urban areas, while the rest voted in rural areas.

A total of eighteen parties with over 7,136 candidates competed to enter the 465-seat bicameral parliament.

This was the ninth general election in Romania since 1990, after Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was overthrown in December 1989.

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