Low turnout as Romanians vote in presidential

With an electorate of 17.7 million, turnout was as low as 7.1 per cent in the eastern region of Bacau, while the highest turnout by mid-day in mainly ethnic Hungarian region of Covasna was just 15.7 per cent, officials said. Just over nine per cent of the electorate had voted in Bucharest during the morning, they added. Campaigning had been mainly through the media, with no major rallies for an electorate seen as rather indifferent in one of eastern Europe's most struggling economies.

Ion Iliescu, a former communist who became president following the ousting nearly 11 years ago of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, was seen as favourite to win the presidential election. Recent opinion polls had been giving 70-year-old Iliescu, president from 1990 to 1996, a lead of around 45 per cent, followed by hardline nationalist Corneliu Vadim Tudor, current Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu and ex-premier Theodor Stolojan. A run-off poll between the two was likely as neither was expected to gain an absolute majority in the initial voting. The run-off is set for December 10. Iliescu's leftist opposition Party of Social Democracy of Romania (PDSR) is also widely expected to unseat the ruling anti-communist coalition government after four hapless years in office. Critics say the governing coalition government had failed to initiate badly needed reforms to restore the flagging economic fortunes of the impoverished eastern European nation. The nationalist Greater Romania Party (GRP) of Ceausescu admirer Tudor is expected to fare well, with about 20 per cent of the votes.

From among the partners in the ruling coalition, only the National Liberal Party (NLP) and the party representing the ethnic Hungarian minority UDMR are expected to play a significant role in the new parliament. The NLP is expected win about 13 per cent, while the UDMR is given up to 7 per cent. The NLP has fielded Stolojan, a former primer minister, as its presidential candidate. Analysts say Iliescu's PDSR might form a coalition government with the NLP and the UDMR. The Christian Democrats, whose popularity has slumped, might even fail to return to the new legislature. Outgoing President Emil Constantinescu in a surprise announcement last July said he would bow out of politics and not stand for reelection as he had been unable to stamp out corruption.

(dpa)