Romanian governing alliance wins over 40% of votes in European Parliament elections

Romania’s governing alliance has won the Euro parliamentary elections, with around 41 percent of the votes, according to an exit-poll made by CURS-Avantgarde social research institute for the Romanian national television (TVR). The results of the poll were published on Sunday, May 25, at 21:00, after the voting ended. The governing alliance is made of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the Conservatory Party (PC) and the National Union for Romania’s Progress (UNPR). If the official counting confirms this result, then the alliance will get about half of the 32 mandates which Romania will have in the European Parliament. The National Liberal Party (PNL), which got out of the governing Social Liberal Union (USL) in February this year, got a little under 15 percent of the votes, which leaves a dent in the party’s leader, Crin Antonescu, presidential ambitions for the elections in late November this year. The Democrat Liberal Party (PDL) got almost 12 percent of the votes, while the Popular Movement Party (PMP), a party which was formed just a few months ago, mainly by ex-PDL members, got a little under 7 percent of the votes. PMP is led by former tourism minister Elena Udrea and is also supported by Romanian president Traian Basescu. The Democrat Union of Magyars in Romania (UDMR) also got some 7 percent of the votes and will be represented in the European Parliament. No other party exceeded the 5 percent threshold needed to get seats in the EU Parliament. The main surprise of these elections came from actor Mircea Diaconu, who went to the polls as an independent and got more than 5 percent of the votes, according to the exit-poll. Diaconu, who was member of the PNL until the beginning of this year, resigned from the party after he was found incompatible and decided to go by himself in the elections. The turnout of the European Parliament elections in Romania was about 26.5 percent until 19:00, two hours before the polls closed, official data shows. editor@romania-insider.com