Romanians are voting in a runoff presidential election, with Prime Minister Victor Ponta set to claim the post for the Social Democrats after the decade-long rule of his rival, Traian Basescu.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. in Bucharest and close at 9 p.m. Ponta, 42, has a lead of as much as 10 percentage points over Liberal Party Chairman Klaus Johannis, polls show. The winner will start the five-year term at the end of next month. If the premier wins, the ruling coalition will have to pick a successor and may shuffle the government midway through the election cycle, with the next ballot scheduled for 2016.
