BUCHAREST, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- The first partial results announced Monday confirmed the official exit polls released late Sunday at the end of Romania's presidential elections nationwide, with incumbent President Klaus Iohannis leading with over 10 percentage points ahead of his main rival.
Iohannis, 60, who is running for a second term on behalf of the ruling Liberal National Party, got 36.91 percent of the votes, while Social Democrat leader Viorica Dancila came second with 23.45 percent, according to the first partial results announced by the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) Spokesman Mircea Preotescu, after counting votes from over 95 percent of polling stations nationwide.
Dan Barna, president of Save Romania Union, came third with 14.19 percent. The relatively newcomer to politics had always been considered one of the most powerful contenders for the next president, but failed to enter the runoff.
Although the statistics of overseas ballots have not been included in this partial results, it will no longer affect the ranking, considering the relatively large gap between the main candidates' domestic votes.
According to the BEC, the voter turnout was 47.77 percent of all registered voters nationwide.
According to the Constitution, Iohannis and Dancila are set to contest the presidential run-off two weeks later, on Nov. 24, in which the candidate who gets the highest number of valid votes will be the winner.
The presidential elections were held in Romania on Sunday, with a total of 14 candidates competing for the state's top position.
Romania's president is elected every five years, with two successive terms allowed.
