国际英语新闻：Exit polls show incumbent president narrowly leading Romania's presidential elections

BUCHAREST, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Exit polls gave incumbent President Traian Basescu a narrow lead in Romania's presidential elections on Sunday with 32.8 percent of the vote, against 31.7 percent for his main opponent, Mircea Geoana of Social Democrats.

    According to the Romanian Constitution, Basescu and Geoana are to face off in the presidential run-off on Dec. 6.

The incumbent Romanian President Traian Basescu speaks to media after casting his ballot at a polling station in Bucharest, Nov. 22, 2009

The two are followed by Crin Antonescu of the National Liberal Party, with 21.8 percent of the vote, according to INSOMAR Political Research and Marketing.

    Basescu said after the close of the polling stations that his priority in the coming days will be the political solutions for having a government approved by Parliament, and stressed that the "deeply right-leaning vote" will have to be considered in the structure of the future government.

Romanian Social Democratic Party's presidential candidate Mircea Geoana speaks after casting his ballot at a polling station in Bucharest, Nov. 22, 2009

The election competition will start from scratch tomorrow, said Geoana soon after the release of exit polls, promising respect to his political partners, with whom he said he wants to set up a stable, efficient and predictable government if he wins the Dec. 6presidential run-off.

    Romania held on Sunday presidential elections to choose a new president for the next five-year term. A total of 12 candidates entered the race for the state's top position.

Romanians register to cast their ballots at a polling station in Bucharest, Nov. 22, 2009. The presidential elections began on Sunday morning in Romania, over 18 million eligible voters are expected to turn to polls to elect a new president for the next five-year term.

As many as 53.52 percent of the voters on the electoral rolls had cast a ballot in the election, while 50.16 percent had also participated in a referendum on the introduction of a unicameral Parliament and the downsizing of the number of lawmakers, according to the Central Election Bureau.

    Romania has been in a political gridlock since mid-October, when its democrat liberal government was ousted in a non-confidence vote in Parliament, the first in the 20 years after the fall of the communist regime.

    President Basescu failed to win Parliament support for a new prime minister, and the country will likely not have a legitimate government in place before the election runoff scheduled for Dec. 6.

A Romanian couple register to cast their ballots at a polling station in Bucharest, Nov. 22, 2009.