Romanian Voters Go To Polls In Local Elections

Bucharest Mayor Sorin Oprescu was widely expected to stay in his post after the voting.

Voters in Romania are at the polls in local elections expected to favor the center-left Social Liberal Union now in power on a national level.

More than 40,000 council posts and mayoral positions in over 3,000 cities are due to be determined in the vote, which is open to the more than 18.3 million eligible Romanian voters as well as 37,000 European citizens living in the country.

Few surprises are expected, although attention is focused on the Transylvanian city of Cluj and the mayoral election bid of former Prime Minister Emil Boc, whose government imposed drastic austerity measures in 2010.

In the capital, Bucharest, the campaign has focused on protecting the city's architectural heritage from developers and reducing traffic polution.

The incumbent mayor, Sorin Oprescu, is expected to hold on to his post.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters