Official results of the 6 June first round of Romania's local elections confirmed that incumbent Bucharest Mayor Traian Basescu has won a second mandate, garnering 54.9 percent of the vote, Mediafax reported.

The National Liberal Party (PNL)-Democratic Party alliance has an absolute majority of 51.2 percent on the municipal council.

In five of Bucharest's six districts, runoffs for the post of mayor will be held on 20 June. Country-wide official election returns show that the PNL and the Democrats, running separately in most counties, garnered a slight plurality of the votes for county councils, where the voting system is similar to that employed in the parliamentary elections slated for November.

The ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) scored 32.68 percent in the votes for the county councils, the PNL 15.93 percent, and the Democrats 12.7 percent, but their alliance scored an additional 5.13 percent in counties where it ran on joint lists.

The PSD, however, leads in the number of local councilors elected countrywide (37.4 percent), followed by the PNL (17.6 percent) and the PD (15 percent).

The ruling party also received 69.5 percent of all mayoral mandates decided on the first round.

(RFE/RL 10.vi.04)