Romanian leftist Social Democrats lead in parliamentary vote-parallel count

The count does not include roughly 265,000 votes cast in the diaspora. The centrist alliance USR-Plus, a likely coalition partner for the Liberals won 15.5% of votes. The next parliament looks set to only have five parties, including ethnic Hungarian UDMR and the newcomer Alliance for Uniting Romanians, an ultranationalist grouping.

Romania's opposition Social Democrats (PSD) won Sunday's general election, a preliminary parallel count showed on Monday, riding a wave of voter discontent over the coronavirus pandemic and the minority Liberal government's vows of fiscal restraint.

A parallel count by independent platform Code for Romania showed that the leftist Social Democrats won 29.7% of votes and the centrist Liberals of Prime Minister Ludovic Orban 25.57% with roughly 96% of ballots counted. The count does not include roughly 265,000 votes cast in the diaspora.

The centrist alliance USR-Plus, a likely coalition partner for the Liberals won 15.5% of votes. The next parliament looks set to only have five parties, including ethnic Hungarian UDMR and the newcomer Alliance for Uniting Romanians, an ultranationalist grouping.