Romania’s Social Democratic Party looked set to win the most votes in Sunday’s parliamentary election, incomplete data showed, while far-right populists were on track to make significant gains in the country’s legislature.

The leftist Social Democratic Party topped the polls in Sunday’s vote and the far-right nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians came in second.

Romanians vote in a parliamentary election on Sunday, one week after an independent far-right candidate won the most votes in the first round of a presidential election, a result now under review by the country's top court.

Romanians cast ballots Sunday in a parliamentary election sandwiched between a two-round presidential race, the first of which has plunged the European Union and NATO member into unprecedented turmoil following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference.

Posters of various political parties seen on a street in Bucharest, 28 November, 2024

Romania's Constitutional Court on Monday validated the shock first-round result in its presidential election, setting the stage for a run-off vote on Dec. 8 that could upend the country's pro-Western orientation and erode backing for Ukraine.