Exit polls show Democrat Party won EP ballots, open-party vote referendum invalid due to absenteeism

Estimates put together by an exit poll commissioned tv station Realitatea TV showed the Democrat Party (PD) won the most mandates to the European Parliament securing 31.5 percent of the votes, while the open-party ballot referendum was declared invalid because of absenteeism.

PD was followed by the largest opposition party in Romania, the Social Democrat Party (PSD) which secured 21.1 percent of all votes. The next in line were the Liberal Party (PNL) with 15.6 percent of all votes, the Liberal-Democrat Party (PLD) with 6.9 percent and the Hungarian Democratic Alliance (UDMR) with 6.2 percent.

Exit polls showed PD secured 11 mandates, PSD 7.3 mandates, PNL 5.4, PLD 2.4 and UDMR 2.1 mandates. Romania has to send 35 representatives to the European Parliament.

The other eight parties which took part in the race failed to obtain 5 percent of the votes in the elections, below the electoral threshold allowing them to send their members to EU's legislative arm.

The latest data from the central electoral bureau showed vote attendance at 9 p.m. when the voting was officially closed, stood at 29.12 percent.

As far as the open-party ballot referendum is concerned, only 24.8 percent of the voters showed up to express their opinion, which made the ballot invalid, according to exit polls. In order to have a valid referendum 50 percent plus one of the voters should have attended the vote.

Out of those who voted in the referendum 89.2 percent said "yes" to the introduction of the open-party voting system in Romania, replacing the party-list vote, while 10.2 percent said "no".

NewsIn