Romania's PM Ponta wins first round of presidential election

Romania's Prime Minister Victor Ponta gestures during a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest November 3, 2014. Ponta led the first round of Romania's presidential election, a step towards a victory that would consolidate his leftist party's hold on power but would also raise questions about judicial independence. With nearly all ballots counted, Ponta, leader of the Social Democrats and a former prosecutor and amateur rally driver who became prime minister two years ago, had won 40.3 percent of the vote in Sunday's election. That compared with 30.4 percent for his nearest challenger, Klaus Iohannis, an ethnic German mayor backed by two centre-right parties. REUTERS/Bogdan Cristel (ROMANIA - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR4CM4Z

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Prime Minister Victor Ponta won the first round of Romania's presidential election, a step towards a victory that would consolidate his leftist party's hold on power but would also raise questions about judicial independence.

With nearly all ballots counted, Ponta, leader of the Social Democrats and a former prosecutor and amateur rally driver who became prime minister two years ago, had won 40.3 percent of the vote in Sunday's election. That compared with 30.4 percent for his nearest challenger, Klaus Iohannis, an ethnic German mayor backed by two centre-right parties.