Romanian president on track for second term

BUCHAREST, Romania－Exit polls pointed to a commanding lead for Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in a presidential runoff on Sunday,

The exit polls suggest the incumbent took about 65 percent of the vote.

Iohannis' rival Viorica Dancila, of the Social Democratic Party, gained about 34 percent of the vote, according to separate exit polls conducted by CURS-Avangarde and IRES.

With the margin of Iohannis' lead, as indicated by the exit polls, he would appear to be assured of victory in the presidential runoff.

The poll data came from polling stations within Romania, excluding those citizens who had voted abroad.

It is generally believed that Iohannis' support rate among overseas voters would greatly that of exceed his opponent.

The turnout in the runoff came to almost 50 percent of the nation's registered voters, said Mircea Preotescu, a spokesman for the Central Electoral Bureau.

"Romania won! Modern, European, normal Romania won today," Iohannis said at the headquarters of his National Liberal Party after the release of one of the exit polls forecasting his victory. "Romanians were the day's heroes. They went to vote in impressive numbers and this is the most important gain of this day."

"I receive this victory with joy, thankfulness, modesty and with faith in Romania," said the 60-year-old former mayor of the city of Sibiu, a member of Romania's ethnic German minority who was a high school physics teacher before entering politics.

Dancila, for her part, thanked the voters who wholeheartedly supported her and said that the "over 3 million votes" she gained "helps us, obliges us and in this respect to do everything possible to win the local elections and the parliamentary ones" next year.

Dancila's Social Democratic government was defeated by the National Liberal Party days before the first round of the presidential elections, after being abandoned by its ruling partner and losing a vote of confidence in the parliament.

Earlier this month, lawmakers backed a minority government led by Prime Minister Ludovic Orban of the National Liberal Party, which was formerly headed by Iohannis.

Iohannis clashed often with Dancila and her party over judiciary reforms and other issues. Opponents and critics worried about the dilution of anti-corruption laws, which, in recent years, led to the indictment of dozens of Cabinet members, lawmakers and even a Romanian member of the European Parliament.

With their shared ideological roots and values, Iohannis and Orban are expected to work together to boost the anti-graft measures.

The runoff vote on Sunday came two weeks after the first round of elections when 14 candidates competed for the state's top position. That field was whittled down to Iohannis and Dancila for the runoff.

Romania's president is elected every five years, with two successive terms allowed. Iohannis was first elected as the country's leader in 2014.