Ethnic German sweeps to victory in Romania's presidential runoff

Thousands of people gathered in Bucharest to celebrate after ethnic German mayor Klaus Iohannis decisively defeated Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta in a presidential runoff.

Ponta had been the favorite to win. However, Iohannis, mayor of the city of Sibiu, who promised to crack down on corruption, scored a surprise victory.

With 76 percent of the votes counted early on Monday, Iohannis was leading with 54.8 percent while Ponta had 45.2 percent. Ponta conceded defeat late on Sunday.