Exit Polls: Challenger Defeats Incumbent for Romanian Presidency

BUCHAREST, Romania – Exit polls show ex-foreign minister Mircea Geoana defeating incumbent Traian Basescu in the Romanian presidential race.

Geoana, the leader of the Social Democrats, says the result from Sunday's runoff is "a victory for normalcy, a victory for decency, for all citizens who want a better life."

The Insomar opinion poll puts Geoana at 51.6 percent of the vote and Basescu at 49.8 percent. The Company for Research and Sociological Branding says Geoana won 51.6 percent to Basescu's 48.4 percent. The CURS exit poll has Geoana with 50.8 percent and Basescu with 49.2 percent.

Geona has thanked conservative Crin Antonescu who won 20 percent of the vote in the first round of the presidential race and and threw his support behind Geoana.