Romanian President on verge of re-election

Romanian voters on Sunday began casting ballots in the second round of presidential elections, with the incumbent Klaus Iohannis appearing on the verge of winning another term.

Iohannis soundly beat his challenger, former prime minister and leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Viorica Dancila, in the first round two weeks earlier with 36 to 24 percent of the votes, the Deutsch Press Agency (dpa) reported.

Analysts expect it unlikely that Dancila could win over many supporters of any of the other 12 candidates from the first round.

President since 2014, Iohannis centered his campaign on his battle with corruption and PSD efforts to push through laws that would have relaxed anti-graft rules.

 In a debate this week Iohannis said that, without him, the PSD would have broken the rule of law in Romania.

 Dancila was ousted as prime minister in a parliamentary vote in October over persistent corruption issues involving her party

While the president's office carries limited formal authority, a decisive win would blow wind into the sails of Iohannis' Liberals (PNL) and accelerate the downward trend for Dancila and the PSD.

 Around 18.2 million Romanians are registered to vote in the country and abroad.