Incumbent President Traian Basescu won the first round of Romania's presidential election on Sunday, and will face leftist leader Mircea Geoana in a December 6 runoff, exit polls showed.
Surveys by pollsters INSOMAR and CURS showed Basescu garnering 33-34 percent of the vote with Geoana closely behind with 31-32 percent. The election is vital to solving a government crisis that has delayed aid from the International Monetary Fund and reviving stalled economic and political reforms in the Balkan state of 22 million.
Whoever wins the election will play a pivotal role by nominating a new prime minister to replace the centre-left coalition government that collapsed in October.
The new president will play a pivotal role in the reform process by nominating a new prime minister, who must replace the centre-left coalition that collapsed in October amid internal bickering. Opinion polls show centrist incumbent Traian Basescu with about 35 percent support, ahead of left-wing challenger Mircea Geoana on 30 percent.
A third candidate, Crin Antonescu, has about 18 percent. Surveys show Basescu and Geoana neck-and-neck in a run-off due on December 6 if no one wins an absolute majority in Sunday's first round. Two polls have shown Basescu narrowly behind, but the results were within the polls' margin of error. Around 18 million Romanians can vote on Sunday. Polling stations opened at 0500 GMT and will close at 1900 GMT.
If re-elected, Basescu may try to revive his efforts to counter pervasive corruption and would likely work closely with the central bank on stabilising the economy. But political analysts say he would have to tone down his confrontational style, which has angered his rivals and discouraged voters. After several years of strong economic growth, Romania was one of the hardest hit in the region over the last year when the global crisis cut off sources of cash, raising jobless rates.
Basescu appears to have taken the brunt of voter anger, with many Romanians turning to Geoana's promises of social protection and blaming Basescu for political bickering that has delayed crucial economic reforms. "All my family votes with Geoana. Basescu can't get along. Nobody can understand him. He told people they will live well and nobody does," said Vali Postovaru, an unemployed 29-year-old who has just returned from working in Italy.
Whoever forms the new government will have three election-free years to slim the bloated public finances and clean up a political class steeped in murky deals and graft.