Social Democrats Scent Victory in Romanian Election

Almost 19 million Romanians are expected to head to the polls today to a new parliament, amid an expected low voter turnout and with corruption dominating the debate.

Polls opened at 7am and will close at 9pm.

The elections are expected to be more a vote on the recent efforts to curb graft than on party policies. Corruption scandals have dominated the electoral campaign, drowning the debate on bread-and-butter issues.

Anti-graft prosecutors have investigated thousands of officials over the past few years but the parties still have candidates on their electoral lists who have been prosecuted and even sentenced for corruption.

Despite having been dismissed from power on corruption allegations after a dramatic nightclub fire in Bucharest that killed 64 people in October 2015 and replaced with a technocratic government, the Social Democrats appear the favourites in the polls.

The Social Democrat Party, PSD supported mainly by a rural, elderly electorate, is ahead in most polls, with the support of 40 to 44 per cent of those intending to vote.

The PSD is followed by the centre-right National Liberal Party, PNL, with 23 per cent, the newly established centrist Save Romania Union, USR, with 7 per cent, and the leftist ALDE and the populist Popular Movement Party, PMP, with 6 per cent.

The Democrat Hungarian Union in Romania, UDMR, stands to win 5 per cent and United Romania Party, a PSD splinter, 4 per cent, which would place it below the 5-per-cent threshold needed to enter parliament.

Turnout is likely to be modest. According to a poll released on Friday by the Romanian Institute for Evaluation and Strategy, only 42 per cent of Romanian have a clear intention to vote.

Enjoyoing a free hand given...