Anti-Austerity Party Wins in Romanian Election

Turnout low in the E.U.'s newest member

Romania's centre-left governing coalition has comfortably won a weekend parliamentary poll with nearly 60 per cent of the vote, partial results have showed.

With 80 per cent of the polling stations reporting, the results confirmed exit polls that declared the Social-Liberal Union (USL) headed by Prime Minister Victor Ponta as winner in Sunday's poll.

Despite the fact that it (USL) has only held power since May, many voters saw it as the party of change because it has promised to roll back austerity cuts undertaken by prevous government.

Parties close to President Traian Basescu came in a distant second with nearly 17 per cent of the vote.