Romania's Ponta Favorite to Win Presidential Poll
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Romanians vote on Sunday to choose their next president, with Social Democrat and current prime minister Victor Ponta the overwhelming favorite to win.
Ponta, 42, goes into the second round of votes with 54 per cent support, according to the latest opinion polls, clearly ahead of his conservative opponent, Klaus Iohannis.
Everything seems to be in the former lawyer's favor to ensure victory. Ponta has the political experience, the support of the hugely influential Romanian Orthodox Church and a boost from the strengthening economy.
At the same Iohannis, from Romania's ethnic German minority, seems uncomfortable in front of the cameras, and has faced accusations he is a not a "real Romanian".
In the first round of voting on November 2, Ponta finished first with 40 percent of the vote, while his conservative rival took 30 percent.
But one thing, claim experts, could halt Ponta's chances of clinching the presidency: turnout.
"The key of the second round is getting out the vote," said Christian Ghinea of the Romanian Centre for European Politics.
"If the voters in the big cities, who tend to favor the opposition, are mobilised, Iohannis has a chance," Ghinea told AFP.
Turnout was 52 percent in the first round.
Another great unknown is the vote of the diaspora, which numbers about three million people.
Only 160,000 were able to cast their ballots in the first round, however, due to an insufficient number of polling stations in countries including France, Germany and Britain.
