BUCHAREST, November 25. /TASS/. Independent candidate Calin Georgescu won the first round of the Romanian presidential election, data from the Permanent Electoral Authority showed after ballot count ended.

He mustered 22.94% of the vote. Elena Lasconi, leader of the center-right Save Romania Union party, came in second with 19.18% of the vote. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who leads the Social Democratic Party, ended up third with 19.15% of the vote.

Romanians living abroad handed Georgescu most of their vote, 43.35%. He was followed by Lasconi with 26.82% and the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians leader, George Simion, with 12.07%.

Because a presidential candidate needs to secure support from at least 50% plus one of all registered voters to be elected in the first round, a second round must be held to determine the next president. In the runoff, which is scheduled for December 8, Georgescu will face off against Lasconi.