Far right in strong position as Romania votes in presidential election
Al Jazeera
Social Democrat Marcel Ciolacu and far-right George Simion are the most likely to move on to a run-off on December 8.
The first round of presidential elections has begun in Romania, with voters choosing a replacement for the outgoing President Klaus Iohannis.
Romanians are choosing between 13 candidates on Sunday, with the top two moving on to a second round of voting on December 8 if no single candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round.
That second presidential vote may be between current Social Democratic Party (PSD) Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and the far-right leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), George Simion.
By 12:00 GMT, Romania’s central election bureau said the voter turnout was 27 percent. Romanians have until 19:00 GMT to cast their votes.
Ciolacu has been leading in the polls with 25 percent compared with Simion, who according to opinion polls holds the support of 15 to 19 percent of the country.
