Romanians Voting In Parliamentary Elections

Prime Minister Victor Ponta

Polls have opened in Romania, where parliamentary elections are taking place.

Opinion polls suggest the leftist Social Liberal Union party of Prime Minister Victor Ponta will win a majority of the seats.

However, commentators say President Traian Basescu may use his powers to ask one of his own allies to try to form a government.

The two have been embroiled in a feud since Ponta tried and failed to impeach the center-right Basescu in July.

Voter turnout is expected to be less than 50 percent, a sign, commentators say, of general dissatisfaction among Romanians with the country's political class.

Romania, one of Europe's poorest countries, is struggling to recover from a deep recession.

Based on reporting by Reuters and Al-Jazeera