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| - Romania's ruling centre-right put in a strong performance in local elections, according to partial results published Monday, in a boost to their hopes ahead of a general election set for December. The National Liberal Party (PNL) led by prime minister Ludovic Orban won 15 regional capitals out of a total of 41, while the left-wing Social Democratic Party (PSD) took 14. The PNL also doubled the number of regional councils under its command, going from eight to 17. Despite seeing its influence shrinking, the PSD still performed well in traditional heartlands in the south and east, which helped them retain 20 regional councils. It was also a big night for the recently-formed centre-right alliance USR-PLUS that will now take control in major urban centres such as Brasov and Timisoara. In the latter the new mayor is a German citizen, 37-year-old Dominic Fritz, who worked as chief of staff for German former President Horst Koehler. Fritz first came to Romania 16 years ago to work as a volunteer in an orphanage. Both PNL and USR-PLUS successfully supported Nicusor Dan, a 50-year-old mathematician and former activist, for the job of Bucharest mayor. Four years ago he lost out to PSD incumbent Gabriela Firea but this time managed to defeat her with over 42 percent of the vote. Turnout on Sunday stood at 46 percent out of more than 18 million eligible voters, while in the capital Bucharest it was even lower at 37 percent. The PSD put a brave face on the results, pointing to fact that they still have 1,500 mayors across the country. The PSD had long dominated Romania's post-communist political landscape, but in the past two years they have lost in European and presidential elections and have been ousted from government. ii/jsk/bp
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