Update 20:30 - About 11 million Romanians have cast their ballots by 19:00, two hours before the voting stops, both in Romania and abroad, more than the total number of voters in the first round of the first round of the presidential elections, on November 2, according to data from Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau (BEC).

More than 10.7 million Romanians have voted in Romania, which is almost 58% of the people registered on the voting lists, which is one of the highest turnout rates in the last 20 years. In Bucharest, the turnout rate by 19:00 was over 60%. Some of the highest turnout rates were also recorded in Cluj and Sibiu, two of the most populous counties in Transylvania.

More than 285,000 Romanians have also voted abroad, which is almost double compared to first round.

These high turnout figures could change the outcome of the elections. Prime Minister Victor Ponta went into the second round with a 10% advantage over his opponent, Sibiu’s mayor, Klaus Iohannis. Ponta got 44% of the votes in the first round, versus 34% for Iohannis.

The first results of the exit polls will be made public at 21:00, but these are expected to be extremely close, so it’s the official counting of the votes which will reveal for sure who Romania’s net president will be.

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Almost 5 million Romanians already voted in the second round of the presidential elections, on Sunday, November 16, by 13:00, according to official data released by the Central Electoral Bureau- BEC. This is 30% more than the number of voters registered in the first round, on November 2, at the same hour.

The turnout rate was thus significantly higher: 27.2%, compared to 20.8% at the same time in the first round.

The highest turnout rates were registered in Ilfov, which covers the area surrounding the capital Bucharest, where 32% of the people registered already went to vote, followed by Olt and Teleorman, in Southern Romania, two of the so called „red counties”, where Prime Minister Victor Ponta’s Social Democratic Party always had good scores.

The lowest turnout rates were in Harghita and Covasna, two counties in the center of Romania where there are strong Magyar communities.

In Bucharest, the turnout rate was 27.5%, slightly above the country’s average.

The polls close at 21:00 and that’s when the first results of the exit polls will also be released. At least four exit polls will be made, for different TV stations. However, it’s the official results that count, as five years ago the candidate who was first according to exit polls, PSD’s Mircea Geoana, lost the elections to Traian Basescu.

This year, it’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta who’s competing in the second round against Sibiu’s mayor, Klaus Iohannis. In the first round, Ponta got more than 44% of the votes, while Iohannis only got 34%.

editor@romania-insider.com