Romanian election requires run-off to choose next president
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Romania faces a run-off vote after no clear winner emerged in a presidential election overshadowed by a political crisis that has threatened to derail emergency international funding for the country's recession-ravaged economy.
Exit polls taken on Sunday evening showed that the centre-Right Traian Basescu, the incumbent president, scored a narrow victory over his main rival and Left-wing candidate Mircea Geoana.
But with President Basecu, who is aiming for a second five-year term, taking about 33 per cent of the vote in comparison to Mr Geoana's 31 per cent the country must vote again on December 5 as the two men go head to head.
Both the two front-runners have called the vote the most important since the overthrow of communism in Romania a decade ago.
With the president appointing the prime minister the victor in December's vote could play a key role in returning political stability to a country that has been in crisis since October when the governing coalition collapsed.
The turmoil has heaped more woe on the Balkan country that has struggled to cope with the ravages of the global recession.
Unhappy with the political deadlock in Bucharest the IMF has delayed further payments of a massive bail-out loan, desperately needed in country which has an economy predicted to shrink by 8.5 per cent this year.
But some experts have suggested that Romania's relations with the IMF could come under further strain if Mr Geoana wins.
The51-year-old former foreign minister might try and use his influence to reject the stringent, and unpopular, lending requirements demanded by the financial institution.
Romanians also voted in a referendum on Sunday on whether to reduce the number of MPs and abolish one of the country's parliamentary chambers.
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Taken from the UK Telegraph
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/romania/6631589/Romanian-election-requires-run-off-to-choose-next-president.html