Romania votes in parliamentary election [Video]

BUCHAREST, Romania –

Romanians voted on Sunday in a parliamentary election sandwiched between two rounds of the presidential race, the first of which has plunged the European Union and NATO member into unprecedented turmoil following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference.

Sunday’s vote will elect a new government and prime minister and determine the formation of the 466-seat legislature. When polls closed locally at 9 p.m., about 9.4 million people — about 52.3 per cent of eligible voters — had cast ballots, according to the Central Election Bureau. It was the biggest turnout in a parliamentary election since 2004.

The legislative vote came a week after the first round of a presidential race that saw a controversial far-right populist who was polling in single digits win the most votes. Calin Georgescu, 62, is due to face reformist Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party, or USR, in a Dec. 8 runoff.

Georgescu’s TikTok exposure raises questions

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