BUCHAREST, November 25. /TASS/. Independent candidate Calin Georgescu is leading the first round of Sunday’s presidential election in Romania, real-time results released on the website of the Permanent Electoral Authority show.

With more than 90% of the ballots counted nation-wide, Georgescu is in the lead with 22.04% of the vote. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, of the Social Democratic party, with 21.19% and Center-right opposition leader Elena Lasconi with 16.55% are running second and third, respectively.

Georgescu is reserved about Romania’s NATO membership and he has been cautiously pushing for normalization with Russia.

Since a presidential candidate needed to get at least 50% of the votes plus 1 of the total votes to be elected in the first round, the country will hold a runoff election on December 8.