Ruling Social Democrats win Romania EU vote: official results

(BUCHAREST) - Romania's ruling left-wing alliance led by the Social Democrats won 37.6 percent of the vote in European parliamentary elections, official results showed Monday.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta's PSD won 16 seats according to official data issued after 99.99 percent of Sunday's ballots had been counted.

The EU's second-poorest country since joining the bloc in 2007, Romania will send 32 legislators to the European Parliament.

The opposition National Liberal Party came second with around 15 percent of the vote, giving them six seats.

The party announced on Monday they would leave the centrist ALDE Liberals EU grouping in favour of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP).

According to unofficial estimates, that would give EPP 15 seats in Strasbourg from Romania.

Unlike other far-right groups in France and Greece, which made significant gains on the back of growing anti-EU sentiment, the Greater Romania Party (PRM) garnered only 2.7 percent of votes.

The Liberal Democrats, an opposition centre-right party once headed by president Traian Basescu but currently at odds with him, came third with 12.2 percent.

The Popular Movement, a party currently supported by Basescu, trailed on 6.2 percent.

The ethnic Hungarians' party UDMR, part of EPP, won 6.3 percent of the vote, while an independent candidate received 6.8 percent.