(ANSA-AFP) - BUCAREST, DEC 4 - Romanians head to the polls in parliamentary elections on Sunday, with pro-European liberals tipped to win despite criticism for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic while in government. In a region where populists and nationalists have recently gained ground, liberal Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, who has been running a minority government for the past year, has pledged to modernise one of EU's poorest countries and keep it on a "pro-European" path. A recent opinion poll published by the IMAS institute put Orban's National Liberal Party (PNL) on 28 percent of the vote, ahead of the main opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD) on 23 percent.

The recently-formed centre-right alliance USR-Plus are on 18 percent, a result which would bolster their growing influence in Romanian politics. While turnout is expected to be low at less than 40 percent, analysts say this isn't only due to the difficulties of holding an election in a pandemic. (ANSA-AFP).