The first official results from Romania’s elections have given the centre-right Democrat Liberal (PDL) party a hair’s breadth lead over their Social Democrat (PSD) rivals, overturning exit polls that had forecast a resounding win for the Left.

With three quarters of the votes counted on Monday, the Democrat Liberals were in the lead with just over 33 per cent of the vote, while the Social Democrats were less than a percentage point behind. This is the first election in which Romania votes under a new, modified first-past-the-post system, meaning the outcome remains uncertain. The final distribution of seats in the two-chamber parliament may not reflect each party’s overall share of the vote.